What I do not understand is how they listed the property and placed it on Rently so people can tour it before they finished making the repairs stated in the tenant-make-ready (TMR) report they sent me.

And, I suspect a lot of people don't want to buy there because most of them never want to go back once they get done that 3 year tour.  

After touring, we saw the potential: 3/4 acre near a university town, house was structurally solid but in very rough cosmetic shape.

I have trouble seeing you get everything done for $30/psf ($300k total rehab), but the only way you will truly know is to consult with a contractor to tour the property with a scope of work.

This includes everything you get from other brokerages, and then some -- professional photography, 3D virtual tour, digital marketing, high-end flyers and materials, and a amazing seller dashboard to see how many people are viewing and visiting your home in real time. 

If you get a realtor, are you both going on the tour or just your friend. 

@Jeffrey Lester  I am a bit south of you but if you feel the urge to sit and talk about real estate or take a tour of some of mine I would be glad to do so. 

If we find something we like, we will do it, but it might not be the worst thing to just leave the bat on our shoulder.As far as "activity at the top of a market", what I meant is that at the bottom of the market, the sellers are serving cookies and Mimosa's trying to get people to tour their houses and make offers, but there are no buyers. 

Next I would do a google street tour of all the comparable sales to compare how the street looks and the curb appeal was for each property.

If you're not willing to demonstrate those things the Realtor is an unpaid tour guide.