This gives you a foundation for making a fair offer.Secure Financing: Be prepared to show you’re a serious buyer with funding lined up, whether through cash, traditional financing, or a creative option like seller financing.Have a Strategy for Repairs or Development: If the property is distressed, outline how you’ll handle improvements to bring it back to productive use.

Is one a clear choice and I am having trouble seeing it?

@Joshua Lanzieri when renovating older properties there are almost always negative surprises.Go watch any HGTV renovation show and most of them will have this as a cliff-hanger, forcing the choice of either going over budget or cutting back elsewhere.10% overruns happen often, but 50% is NOT acceptable!

$280k home for $2,500 rent is a personal choice.

But I have 0 empathy to pay for someone's CHOICE of not having there stuff insured. 

I’d love to take advantage of a “traditional” mortgage (or even FHA?)

This is not “student housing” in the traditional sense - even the vacancy risk doesn’t exist as it’s a 12 month lease / they work over the summer there, etc.  

Will likely take longer to close than a traditional hard money (they have to order an appraisal, satisfy lender conditions etc..).

Traditional residential home loan.How did you add value to the deal?

The Housing Choice Voucher program here is run by CMHA (Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority).