Are you on the edge of a crime zone or are you smack in the middle. 

Only problem is with a short term my monthly mortgage payment will be 2K, and will cut deep into my cashflow during that time.With a little work I can get my COC to 3.1% per month for that 12 years.Appreciation is about average in this area and I expect to get about 4% annually maybe 5%. 

You can cut out the middle man on renovations and have some instant equity.

If you have a high salary and a secure profession maybe you take the risk on a break even property that is going to appreciate and rents go up (I would not put 40% down to do it) but if you are at the mid to lower range that negative cash flow can push you over the edge.

That last part is important and I realize not everyone has the flexibility to do that, but since we do it seems like an edge.

@Maximillian Engram   One thing I would say is you get a better network probably as a realtor....you'll probably be able to better cut the fluff from the stuff.   

Would there be budget cuts on services ? 

Then go down to Lowe’s and get them to cut the price by 10 percent.

It appears to cut into the usable space quite a bit, however there should be enough for building a structure.  

I was about 30% conversion the rest could not cut lose with 100 bucks for charity and they wanted my time for free..