Repairing the roof first allows you to observe if the foundation water issues have been resolved.Make the property secure, waterproof, airtight and foundationaly solid first.

The quality of the Lincoln District does indeed vary dramatically street by street, and I would encourage you to drive around during both day and night to observe.

Note.. due to the circumstance that indeed good roofers do not want to do anything unless you change entire roof... but frankly speaking this is overkill..In fact i observed similar overkill in other professions.. in electrical, hvac you name it...... all through the back of my warm sit...simply by watching tons of youtube videos and courses...The real danger in investing into commercial real estate or any other real estate is not knowing inner details of the trades.........   

You are asking the right first questions and your observations about how many ways there are to make money in REI is spot on.

@Max Denning.If you're self managing your own machines than it's a guessing game, and you'll just need to be observant in order to develop an effective schedule.

Go and observe first. 

The same can be said for South Wedge, but these spots seem to have slim pickings in terms of deals right now.Simply put my observance is that right now only the only good deals are arguably class D neighborhoods. 

These are older homes (pre 1970) so you can eliminate the lead paint issue by only working on post 1978 construction (this eliminates a good chunk of your options).Based on what I have observed in the business, most rehabs are not tested for lead or asbestos and most do not pull permits.

I get daily listings from a realtor in OC, and he just did a blog about this very subject, exactly what I have observed.  

You definitely need to have patience.From what I have observed, here is what I think is happening.