The interior will need to be repaired and repainted.I've done several 1900 - 1920's and while they usually have good bones, the electrical can be underpowered for today's needs, and the water lines can be corroded galvanized or even lead.

Lot had the dry stream water flow going thru the middle.  

All of that culminates to high 20% occupancy; up to mid-30s - if you are on water or if you are nearby skiing (<10min).

I'm sure most of us don't say our rentals come with a furnace and hot water tank, but they do and they are not to be removed.

If not, who are you finding for good flood insurance and home insurance on your rentals? 

By improvements I mean that there is power, water and sewer/septic installed and working.

I generally agree that buying SFH as first investment is an easy way to test the waters; however, if you’re set on REI I suggest buying a duplex or quad.

It also has the benefit of being local which is great training wheels as you learn how to be a killer host.Now assuming that you mostly want a cool property to stay in sometimes near water and don't want to spend a ton of time managing I really like the outer banks in NC.

We dug a little deeper and found out the city had a timeline to expand water and sewer services within 18 months.

In one of the 3 fundamental human needs (food, water, shelter).