The house looks abandon and in need of some repair from what can be seen from the outside ( can only imagine the inside).

Since you are only looking to put 10% down I imagine liquidity is an important factor.

I can’t imagine a system where the water bill would be $2000 for one year.

Imagine how it would be if you owned all of your properties free and clear.

I can't imagine a divorce attorney, as an example, simply giving away free advice to complete strangers.  

Because Imagine if you could rent that property for $1250/mo let's say because you found a good deal.

I imagine the new owners will be very unhappy the first time they come to see their new investment.

This was actually not the case and on a 300k construction budget you can imagine how many headaches, loss of time, and money this caused.

I can't imagine buying a house, even a $50K one somewhere in the country, sight unseen.

I would be pouring a lot of effort into underwriting with the potential to acquire the property.Since I have not seen Cap Rates on commercial properties anywhere near that, I assume you may be referring to a single family, duplex, tripex, or quad.