There are never full photos of the mechanicals and basement and roof line so you will never have even a bare inkling of what the potential repairs will be.

Right now the only utility at the garage is power so basically I am starting with a frame and a roof. 

Don't buy those types of homes, they will take a long time and not sell for what you were thinking it would sell for! 

Paying off the notes, working to pre-emptively make repairs to capex items before they fail or become a major issue think roof, HVAC, and foundation.

Our family had a summer home that had an open metal roof over part of the patio, and when it rained everyone was uncomfortable with the noise level.

We use them at home now as well, my wife likes to redecorate..

I manage hundreds of rentals and most of them are caulked every 5 - 10 years.DR Horton was the builder, and after we did two inspections and closed on the house, we found out that a good chunk of the roof was missing - they quickly finished the roofing. 

I just bought it in the fall and am trying to complete a bunch of modifications during off-season (e.g. metal roof, certain safety features, treating the deck, possibly updating the fire pit area, etc). 

According to CoreLogic, in December of 2023, almost 30% of home sales were to investors!

Plan is to purchase a couple homes over the next year.