How bad is too bad to renovate and rent?

[Alex Bruzda]

There is a property in my neighborhood that looks abandoned (the door is bolted shut, a front window is cracked, and it's overgrown) that I have been curious about for a while because I live in a higher end area of the city. I finally looked up the tax records and found out the owner is a private real estate investor who lives out of state now. I called him and asked what he knew about the property, like how bad is it, is it vacant, how long has it been vacant, what kind of work needs to be done, that kind of stuff. He also told me that he would be interested in selling the property if I was interested in buying it and fixing up. He hasn't told me what he wants for it yet because the property wasn't listed, and he wants some time to think about it.

So my question is, how bad is too bad? Like if a place needs floor repairs the deal is good, but if it needs roof and floor repairs it's not? Seems like if you can get it for the right price and it's not condemned that almost any place could be worth it. 

Details:

- This would be my first fixer, but I my family is very involved in real estate, so I'm not totally green.

- ARV Comps for this property are in the $500k-$600k range in my neighborhood.

- The guy bought the property in 2004 and it's been vacant for a couple years, but he has been checking in on it periodically.