The bottom line is, to me, is that Scranton has attractive, if deteriorating, housing stock, several colleges, and service/manufacturing industries nearby.

Account Closed , Improvements vs repair is a very subjective concept and depends if you are comfortable defending your position with IRA.For me, Replacing entire duct is an improvement as you are restoring the property. it is restoration if expenditure returns the unit of property to its ordinarily efficient operating condition if the property has deteriorated to a state of disrepair and is no longer functional for its intended useI would say insulation  and breaker box is a repair. 

But here are my two cents:The majority of gentrification seems to occur where two things exist: 1) An excess of deteriorated homes in a central location and 2) Availability / proximity of professional jobs located in central business districts.

My gut is telling me my time would be much better spent staying disciplined everyday and focusing on my future, figuring out a move I can make to put me in a better place, than to stay at a dead end job while the misery increases and self worth deteriorates.

You'll also want to ensure you have a good property manager to look after the upkeep of the property if you are not there to notice anything deteriorating or which may need attention.Creating an LLC in California could cost you a minimum tax of $800 every year.

To clarify, my goal is to understand where to begin on talking to the court to become a court-appointed conservator/steward (not the right word) for a property currently owned by a bank who foreclosed on it 6-8 years ago and is letting the entire property deteriorate and rot into the ground... thanks!

I see a deteriorating property with increasing repair costs and higher taxes with a threat of increasing vacancies.

The pipes have completely deteriorated and some rusted inside. 

The bass might not actually be that loud you might have old walls with deteriorated insulation that has lost most of it's R value.

Another point, abandoned properties deteriorate much quicker than an occupied one.