A non profit school program acquired the assemblage 30 years ago and built an infill structure and an addition in the rear.

Quote from @Stetson Oates: For example, your 16 year old rear ends a family of 4.  

The rear house has all of the value as it is a 1300 square ft home from the 70s; the front house is 580 sq ft built in 1952. 

Needs gutters, full kitchen and bath, floors, paint with some drywall repair, windows, front porch and the deck on the rear is pretty poor as well.

It is in a northern MI Downtown area (opp zone) in a county seat with 2 hospitals, had it re-zoned to mixed use, and is considered blighted which makes it eligible for MEDC funding of up to 50% of project cost.It is 8k sqft (4,000 each level) with the lower level being a walkout (top level is street level with sloped drive down to the rear of the building).

“But, what if inflation does rear its ugly head Andreas…?”

However the property has a freeway behind it and hence no rear neighbors /more privacy.What do you want to to?

A larger storage building (10X 12 tall barn style) is in the easement and I was told they would move it and move it back, at their cost.The access to the two rear units will be obstructed and damaged by the heavy equipment and the tenants will be upset and don't have another place to park their 4 cars.

: I understand that there is commercial and residential, but there has got to be subgroups While I don't think you need to niche down immediately, some specializations in residential RE are:- Co-op- Condo (incl. luxury)- SFR (median pricepoint)- SFR Luxury- MFR- RentalsThere are a ton of commercial RE specializations including retail (various types), restaurant, other food/bev., warehouse, storage, and dozens more.What should I expect when first coming into the profession ?

There was also a failing retaining wall in the rear of the property that completely blocked natural light form a handful of houses, and was technically on the property line and a shared responsibility.