@Andrew GrimmettTechnically you do not own the property because you did not record the deed - so my guess is you cannot write off any expenses on it since you don’t own it.You probably want to talk to an attorney about this - as also if something were to happen to your grandfather and there are other family members they could contest the quit claim deed - but this will have tax and legal consequences so you should seek those two specialists for this specific situation

@Chris Heinmiller you can export a list of recent (i.e. 18 months) land trades from Redfin, but you do have to separate the apples from the orange and the bananas, but in an area that is somewhat homogenous, you'll usually be able to see a trend, i.e. you might have two low ones at 20-30k per lot, and one or two high ones at 175k-200k/lot, but then you'll see six or seven trades in the 55-65k range, and then you've figured it out. 

However, my challenge is a lot of student loans of ~100k (bachelors and masters degrees), which consequently affects my credit.

What made my investor interested in this deal was being a corner property you are able to build a full 3rd story addition by right which would massively increase the value of the property with similar 3 story properties trading in the low 600k's.

Don't listen to anyone you aren't willing to trade places with.

And if you find something that does, there are likely trade-offs.

Cleaning is not an easy trade to do prooerly.

FTC Suit Leads to $16.7 Million Judgment Against Principals and Celebrity Endorsers of Real Estate Investment Training Program | Federal Trade Commission 

If your looking to learn the trade and want to find a mentor to guide you, the I would suggest visiting one of the local REI clubs in Spokane or Couer D'Alene.

Since I am familiar with stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) already, I thought why not give it a shot and see what is in for me in this industry?