House that's been gutted - wondering if it's worth looking into

[Mary P.]

Hello - thanks for your input - I was looking a house in a small community near me with an eye to possibly moving into it and renting our own home. It's beautiful and in a nice neighborhood. The house next door is much smaller and was purchased to be a rental by someone who needs to move due to their job. The house is completely gutted and they are asking $10k for it. We could buy this house cash but I don't even know how to begin analyzing it as a potential investment.

What do I need to know? What questions should I ask the owner? I know I should find out more about the neighborhood (I haven't physically visited yet - it's been all online viewing.)

Not sure I'm giving enough information to get input - just curious how to even begin assessing something like this...