Run an Opco/Propco model.If your business utilizes real estate as part of ongoing operations you can get all the tax benefits of active RE by having the building purchase and hold the RE.3.

If you ever decide to look over in this area, I'd be happy to put you in touch with the systems I utilize over here and give you insight on which areas to look for. 

Purchased home with potential upside in hoping to force appreciation in the house in order to create equity and eventually utilize the equity (HELOC) to begin investing in other properties.

These companies and their leadership/owners don't care about anonymity because they understand how to properly operate their business i.e. avoid negligent activity while utilizing contract management systems ensuring all vendors are vetted with appropriate licensing and insurance and contracts with  indemnification are in place.

Unfortunately there's a lot of alarmist/scare tactics utilized to upsell these services that do nothing but generate revenues for those who are selling the service and often leave the clients with recurring expenditures i.e  annual maintenance costs.  

Starting with an FHA loan on a property with separate utilities is a great way to begin.

That’s before factoring in utilities or each personal situation.

For example, in some cases even when the home is livable a seller might turn off utilities on a vacant house to save money.

@Chirag Mehta For construction costs, you should be around +/- $100 PSF which would include all sitework, utilities, and going vertical with modern finishes.  

you will need to look at the APN of the property and line it up with what you actaully bought. as mentioned the tax assessed value is not an indicator of value. the land could be a utility easement, used for stormwater management etc.