Abandoned building in transitional neighborhood - quality?

[Christian Carson]

There's a neighborhood in my city that the local and regional players have been trying to push as the next "hot spot" for artists and young professionals for a few years. It looks like they're finally getting some traction and I finally have an opportunity to buy for cheap.

These units need rehabbing. The question is, should we go for higher-end or do basic, no-frills remodeling? My competition looks like no more than $700/mo, and an average of $550/mo for a basic no-frills renovated 2-bdrm. The building purchase (for a 4 unit) is about $40k, renos about $40k and it should have NOI of more than $14k when finished. Taxes are absurdly low.

I am also concerned about the competitiveness of the rental given the relatively high vacancy in this market. I'll be competing against singles and doubles with ample parking. When I was a renter, no off-street parking was an absolute dealbreaker so I'm concerned about not being able to attract a quality tenant if I can't offer any parking. This is an urban neighborhood with bus feeder lines to the train but in Cleveland you either have to be broke or trying very hard to live by example if you don't own a car. Any thoughts on this one?