Hurricane Milton delayed things, but even when the weather improved, her communication stopped entirely.

Have someone who doesn't live in the home walk through and itemize the things that need to be fixed or improved.

You'll probably pay fees and it'll be tougher to find a bank that would be willing to pull cash out for reasons other than direct improvements to the property. 

I would only hire out for major work I can't do myself or emergency repairs.I've dealt with older houses before and the house may be fine for occupants but there's still usually lots of things that can be fixed / improved so it seems a house that isn't perfect would give more opportunities for ongoing maintenance of this sort.To me it seems fairly straightforward to meet the time requirements but I think I need to have extensive documentation?

WWC likes to create several levels of value add in a community, with various levels of interior improvements.

I would suggest starting in areas like Merion/Hungarian for value-add opportunities, South Linden for fixer-uppers, and Whitehall - improving market.

If the repairs are capital improvements (e.g., replacing entire siding), you’ll need to capitalize and depreciate those over time.The unpaid rent is considered a loss, but it’s not directly deductible.

You may be surprised how quickly the MLS value can improve with improved curb appeal alone as well, so consider the landscaping if you want a quicker way out of the property. 

Interest rates are showing signs of improvement. 

I'll re-post here if I notice improvement :).