I get a call out of the blue from the former owner, who I have never met, who says he got a bill for the property for the last few weeks for $75. 

I come from a blue-collar family whose patriarch was often unemployed due to multiple factory shut-downs so the only money advice I was ever given was to get a good office job and invest in my 401k. 

I spend my time in Blue Ridge area as well as Forsyth/Fulton county so we're not too far from each other.

I'm splitting my efforts between long term rentals in north metro atl and short term rentals in Blue Ridge area.

By dated, do you mean it needs new paint & carpet, or are the bathrooms pink/baby blue and the kitchen cabinets falling apart?

In the short-term, I would 100% use the money to invest in a thriving STR market in the Southeast (Smokies, Gulf Coast, Blue Ridge).

It is not like land is in some high demand where it sells quickly and dealing with land is a very specialized field since there are thousands of issues that need to be ironed out before a lot sells e.g. nobody wants to buy a lot where you can't build what you want on the lot because the last blue butterfly in the world lives in a bush on the lot, or the lot is on an earthquake fault, or there is the county will not let you build a structure on the lot more than 10 feet tall, or you cannot cut down a 100-year old tree right where you want your building to go and the list goes on and on.

North Metro Atlanta/North Georgia (Blue Ridge) are still extremely under-rated locations.

If so this may limit such things as the type of windows to replace, the color (or type) of exterior work you might do...even if a fence is allowed to be placed on the property (and what type of fence).Gail Yep, great point...I've had to deal with 'Historic Committees' before...a bunch of blue-haired old ladies with too much time and power on their hands.

There is a lot of discussion about exceptions.Unincorporated Summit County (like Blue River, the area just south of Breck that was the next best option) is proposing a moratorium on issuing new licenses.