We're talking about tearing up all the pee-soaked carpet (dogs..) and bleaching/disinfecting the concrete foundation underneath, replacing a majority of the second floor sub-floor, fixing the roof, fixing the HVAC, repairing the garage (door hanging on by a thread), scrubbing and disinfecting all the cabinets (roach feces everywhere), tearing up and replacing the landscaping, fixing the roof, inspecting and repairing any water damage... the list goes on and on.

The unit is about 1000 sq ft of carpet.  

Flooring was way better with the Carpet Shop in Williamston, NC.

For the major project I had them handle, replacing worn out carpet with Vinyl (Wood Patterned) Flooring I was quoted in writing $2,100 "out the door." 

Talk with a CPA but if this is your property, then I have no doubt you will qualify as a RE ProIn regards to Cost Segregation, this applies to your "non structural" items like carpets, appliances, floors, hardware packages, etc.

Or are there areas where you can improve the house in general, such as hardwood under nasty old carpets that you can refinish.

Paint, carpet cleaning etc.. 

@Alyscha Johnson,You may want to see about getting over that.REI is a people business from both ends: people for whom you provide clean, safe, affordable housing and people with whom you associate to meet your common REI business goals.It's not easy for me, so I can identify with you a bit.

Plan is to go ahead and purchase, clean title and resell. 

In a emergency, I could be up there in 2 ½ hours.Taking into account comps from other rentals on VRBO & AirBnB, services fees, VT room tax, cleaning and management costs, I think my break-even would be in the 60-80 nights/year range.