However, what I would suggest based on your expertise as a contractor is going into a semi-fixer upper and make minor repairs to boost equity as well as savings. 

They do an inspection, look for potential costs with repairs and produce a final report.

That’s what I’m talking about.. having people on the ground who know their turf and can spot trouble before it smacks you in the face.From what I’ve heard, outfits like Northwest Preferred Property Management or Umbrella Properties in Eugene aren’t just running the numbers.. they’ve seen the weird mid-season repairs and the tenant personalities you’ll never read about in a textbook.

As mentioned elsewhere, breakeven on cash flow is not the same as break even for taxes.Let's make some assumptions:Rental income = $1000Mortgage payment = $400 - but $300 is interest and $100 is principalOther expenses (repairs, advertising, utilities, etc) = $600Depreciation = $250The above scenario creates a break even from a cash flow perspective, however the tax scenario looks like this:Rental income minus the mortgage interest (principal is not deductible) minus the other expenses minus depreciation looks like this:1000-300-600-250 = $150 LossIf your income is over $150,000, then you cannot deduct that loss, but you can roll it over to future years. 

The rental is currently managed by my husband and I and I do the paperwork and lease etc, and hire contractors or husband does light repairs.

If you are going to add value to the house you might be able to get an equity line against the property to use to fix up the property or negotiate some repair money from the seller that you get at closing.

Can't the seller disagree to the repair concession?

However, the risk of significant repairs is not to be taken lightly. 

As for repairs on the purchase of a home prior to auction there are some professionals utilized by the professionals for costs to repair the home in best and worst case scenarios.

If you have any cap ex left in Palm Bay (like an HVAC major repair or roof) you will lose cash flow for years.