From the sound of things so far you've got a good candidate for the next burning man festival (ha ha) - beyond that, development options are going got be sparse.

Welcome @Elise Burns to the Bigger Pockets community.Check out the free "How to Flip Houses" under the 'Learn' tab.

You may want to watch September 14, 2015 webinar titled How to Analyze A Fix And Flip Deal (And Avoid Getting Burned).

Personally,I always prefer a licensed electrician who can pull the appropriate permits and get them closed out correctly; remember, electricians are by and large the only trade who can literally burn your house down, and in my home inspections electrical is generally an area that always has deficiencies.

I found out there was a wood burning furnace which needs to be removed per the village code. 

You should watch September 14, 2015 webinar titled How to Analyze A Fix And Flip Deal (And Avoid Getting Burned), which was led by @Bandon Turner. 

Lots of people during the crash burned through their savings by maintaining their livestyle and hoping that they would find a job soon.

The more units turn and burn the higher the repairs and the less cash flow.If local and you can get non-recourse and walk away if it doesn't work out then maybe you would at least get an education out of it for your time.

My sister rents a basement apartment in a houseshe only has liability ins on her old carshe has no renter insurancethe home owner lives in the home upstairsher car had an electrical fire and burned to a crisp in the drivewaydamaging the outside of the the landloards garagewho pays?

As an example, I was selling an 8-unit building and the building burned down while it was being sold.