They looked for opportunity and then fought like the devil to make something out of that opportunity.BTW, by new techniques I'm not referring to the internet (went to high speed 2 days ago from dial-up), blackberries (don't have one), or any other modern convenience like cars and phones.

My current landlord is the owner of the building I live in and its is a fairly old building that he is renovating and modernizing.

House must be in a good area and be modern.

The kitchens have been modernized (granite & new appliances, but nothing fancy) and the baths have been partially redone (walk in showers, but left the old wall sink and floor tiles).My advice is to install tankless water heaters to separate the water situation and consider investing in ductless split AC units to handle the separation of the HVAC.Good luck!

Welcome Jaren, technical guy is always apriciated :)Good luck with spam, nightmare of modern communication!

Which is better - an old badly outdated unit in need of major repairs, that is located in a great area, or a brand new modern unit in a seedy area?

As David has already brought up, the "invention" of the modern mortgage in the 1930's changed this, and caused a lot of lower/middle income families to be able to buy a home over time.

In fact the last one we were in, we updated her house with modern paint colors & fixed a few things & she was able to rent it in a week at a higher price when we moved out.

But adversely, I don't want to spend $20+k on a full blown remodel/modernization.

The building is very modern and newly renovated, looks kind of like a Google office, very techie and open, just to give you an idea.