My overall goal is to have a few rental properties underneath my belt in the next few years and eventually walk away from my full-time job. 

There is no "trouble" in covering it up - you just cover it up. 50% of the older houses in my area that have vinyl siding on them have asbestos shingles underneath.

Believe it or not, there is land maintenance, mowing, clearing, cleaning, fence repair, erosion and drainage, and soil conservation.

When I walked thru a property with a plumbing inspector he mentioned I “may” need a new water service (to replace the old lead one) and a check valve underneath the basement toilet to prevent sewage backup….

The maximum size per system is 5k gallons, and we have class 3 soils.

There is a 10+ unit building that was under contract and the deal fell through due to DEC records of soil contamination from a previous nearby gas station leak. 

-Carpet is in good condition, so was thinking of keeping that, but there are hardwoods underneath, which is great, but I'm unsure of their condition.

I cash flow well because I keep leverage minimal , but my value is the land underneath the house . 

I couldn't finish the work underneath it until the roof was fixed.

If a client cuts out the wall underneath the staircase and makes it a big closet, 50-70sqft....Are you adding that to the total Sqft of the house or is it already part of the total?