And every deal I've done has had some hidden nightmare that we've had to go in and fix (mold behind the walls, squirrel holes in the roof, sewage in the crawl, boiler about to blow and flood 3 units, etc.) which is why contingency budgeting is a must (pad your budget just in case!!).

Had an unplanned shutdown starting the day after the Super Bowl. 

@Lisa Tomita - I can't speak to bats or what such services should cost in your area; however, years back I had an intrusion of squirrels into the attic of one of my properties.

I think your best bet at this point is squirreling away all the cash you can while you're still living in the barracks and do what it takes to advance as fast as possible so you're eligible to receive BAH. 

We did some renovations, painted, fixed items and it was looking cute and was ready to rent but things came up after in a series of unfortunate events-- like the call I got from the tenant about animals in the ceiling... so I hired a trapper I to get rid of the critters... and the call a month later about a gross smell coming from the back of the house... which turns out was a rotting squirrel family in the ceiling-- guess the trapper didn't quite get the critters out before plugging the hole where they were getting in. 

Siding is falling off, paint is completely peeled, tons of deferred maintenance, and apparently a family of squirrels is living inside.

Only one of them actually sued and the judge literally told her she should never step foot in his court again without an attorney because she had no case and was nuttier than squirrel poop.

Thats a lot of time for leaks, mold, squirrels, etc to wreak havoc.Get a tour from an agent or go visit the property in person and look in the windows.

All of the neighborhoods are what you'd be looking for - I'd probably add Mt Washington, Squirrel Hill, Lawrenceville, Friendship, Bloomfield, Strip District and Oakland to your search.

While I had planned all along to add the third bedroom at some point, I ended up doing so much quicker than expected but very pleased to have increased the appraised value by $45,000 in just under a year for what turned out to be a somewhat unplanned BRRRR of a turnkey property.