If you do keep them, I would also advise taking them to a gun shop to get checked out for safety to ensure they are actually in operable and safe condition for use.

I would say there needs to be some substantial deficiencies in safety/function to really make it worth the cost to rewire the house.I am a contractor in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that exclusively works with investors.

As previously mentioned leverage adds risk but if you use it properly it also allows you to grow your cash flow which can increase your margin of safety. 

Orleans St is a definite no-no in terms of safety.

We also have $150,000 equity in our home as a safety net.

My cash safety margin was also too thin to support huge rehab costs with large uncertainty.

You will be doing electrical and plumbing and you’ll need to meet egress and fire / safety requirements.

Most of the people I’ve worked with find some middle ground, keep some cash for safety, reduce non-income debt and allocate some to investing.  

Foreclosing ASAP is a way to get in front of that mathematical "certainty" and cut my losses.By contrast if 4% is a normal interest rate and 8% is "normal" annual appreciation, equity (ie, the safety of my position) is actually still going up each year.

I believe the 6 mo rent cash reserve is a good safety net.