Spend one year in that house improving as you are able (new paint and landscaping at the very least).

Hey Bigger Pockets Community,I hope everyone is doing well and continuing to navigate the ever-evolving real estate landscape.

The amount you can use for closing costs and rate buy downs is limited, so that leaves you with the majority of the credit for "upgrades," like finishing the landscaping, building a fence, installing sod, a sprinkler system, planting trees, buying appliances and installing blinds, etc. 

The squatters threatened the landscape  personnel who were simply trimming trees which were objectively hazardous.  

Specifically, is there a statistical difference in the likelihood of actually acquiring the physical property versus simply earning interest on the debt as a financial investment?

I've been thinking I would like to fix the outside landscaping/fence/Kitchen cabinetry and roof so I that I can get the max rent or just sell and buy in the midwest, 1031 exchange (not sure if I qualify).

I guess I am in the wrong so my bad on this.Perhaps I am coming from a perspective of a conventional strategy where banks  barely interact with their borrowers and treat them like a statistic on their Excel spreadsheet - again my bad on this.

Super nice house with nice landscaping , hardwood floors in great condition, nearly move in ready with new furnace/hotwater/ central air.

I noticed that these statistics are based on Myrtle beach only which has about 37k population and does not include the broader Myrtle beach Metro area which has about 410k population.

If there is landscaping that you can add where, once established while you live there, requires very little maintenance and water, then do that.