As I imagine myself getting a phone call (or even better, a text) from you asking for help buying a house, this is what would rock my world and show me that "this dude's got it together:  let's roll!"

Of course if you can get in there, it's been pretty rock solid for decades.Totally agree with Taylor - BP books are an excellent starting point. 

I’ve worked in many crawl spaces and there’s old houses with all sorts of little piers set on blocks and rocks or wood etc.

I'm very risk averse by nature, so I hire an attorney for this type of thing all the time, even though I used to be one myself.

Another bonus for MN I was reflecting on recent, no natural disasters, like hurricanes, tornadoes, earth quakes, floods, etc, & Hennepin County has had extremely stable prices for a regionally expensive market as compared to the costal markets, Denver, etc. 

The number of units probably has less influence than the nature of those units.A 200-unit apartment complex will run very similar to a 100-unit or 300-unit apartment complex but will run very differently than 200 SF rentals or even 10 20-unit apartments.  

Heating costs go up in winter, as does electric due to the reduced natural light and people being indoors more.

This does not include added value appreciation from the renovations and natural rental growth from stronger demand for 3bed/2bath units.  

Heating costs go up in winter, as does electric due to the reduced natural light and people being indoors more.

If you list the entire house and advertise it as a student rental, groups of friends will naturally want to rent it out, and they'll just split the cost between them.