I'm very good at running comps and determining rehab costs.

For example, if she can't visit the property, is she good at record keeping (so everything is organized at tax time) or finding vendors, comparing product prices, finding free or low cost items on Facebook marketplace to improve the rental)3. emergency fund.

Sherman does seem interesting though because of the lower cost and growth potential.  

To me at my current knowledge level, this deal only works if taking over the loan - to limit the out of pocket money to acquire the property since the outside reno and new septic would take up the bulk of rehab costs. 

A typical PPM will cost about $10K. 

I've been interested in it, the cost was pretty high on the Pace Morby one

I do not think it would cost too much to tone it down howeverI got a $10k quote (minus fees) from an interior decorator recently to redesign.

Since you know what you need to buy it at and an average rehab cost, I would say $50-70k for a cosmetic flip, set the ARV based on the sample you choose and doing comps and ask them if they would invest in a deal similar to this. 

We haven't event gotten our minds wrapped around cost segregation and depreciation, and our current CPA doesn’t seem to have a handle on these concepts either … 

Most land bank properties, Detroit or Wayne County, are trainwrecks and cost more to rehab than they are worth - unless the market keeps improving.Be careful on the next one, but keep improving Detroit!