I cannot tell you after buying a property how many things come out of the woodwork like roof repairs, electrical repairs, new hot water heater etc. 

Purchase price: $220,000 Cash invested: $8,000Located in downtown Woodstock IL, this 2700 sqft 2-story historic home features craftsman woodwork, built-ins, and hardwood floors, with modern finishes. 5 bed 3 bath property with a huge yard, fire pit, and full unfinished basement partitioned and accessible to both side-by-side units.

The woodwork was lovingly restored.

@Henry Hsieh if you advertise for #3 you will have them coming out of the woodwork.

I don't know what the land market is like in Colorado, but in California, there is land that you need to put on the market because the buyer profile is someone who comes out of the woodwork and who you'd never find without putting it out there, so I use platforms like MLS, Crexi, AIR, Loopnet and Costar.

I have a neighbor with an odd sized little piece of property that would work for me to build a shop for woodworking and general storage.

I think that when we see rates drop down to about 5%, we see those sellers start to come out of the woodwork because even though that 3.5% interest they currently have looks great, a 5% interest on their dream home or next step up is a lot easier for them to swallow than a 7%. 

In these areas, if rates drop, I expect buyers to come out of the woodwork.

All the rain and the freeze/thaw cycles speed up the degradation of masonry work, wood work, paint, and can cause many other issues that don't occur as often in warm, dry climates.Regarding your appreciation estimates: in a C or D area, you may or may not get 3% property and rent appreciation--lots of C and D areas depreciate (without a LOT of data and research, it's impossible to know what the future holds...and even with a lot of data and research, it's impossible to know what the future holds!). 

I usually do some of the work myself such as demo and painting and installing appliances and basic wood work and trim. 9K Closing costs (includes a right of redemption bond and 1 point to lower interest rate to about 7%) with payments around $1000.