I think a big piece of the equation is to know your own spending habits.

@Evan Jarvis When I have looked up ceiling codes in the past it always comes up that minimum height is 7' for  Habitable space, hallways, bathrooms, toilet rooms, laundry rooms and portions of basements containing these spaces shall have a ceiling height of not lessthan 7 feet

According to my mortgage broker, there are many alternate lenders which will allow 10% borrowed down payment.There are a few more stringent factors, I wasn't able to find any alternate lenders in smaller communities, and they were not willing to lend on properties which are not readily habitable (undergoing or in the midst of construction, "refreshing" the property was fine)Rates are also higher.

Get in the habit of immediately writing a note on the top as to what property it's for and what it's for.

You do $10,000 worth of improvements to get the property to a habitable state and now you've got $20,000 in it.

The income/expenses are vital to make sure you figure in all of them before moving forward.

If you can afford to do it get in the habit of doing a 15 yr note over a 30 yr note if you plan to hold them for a long long time.

Had I stuck with these the entire time, I would have had a much higher quantity of projects sold like J, but then I would not have had the degree of success and failure that makes me the investor I am today.Bottom line, experience is vital and you ONLY get that when you go out there and do it!

If there was a legitimate habitability issue why did a judge evict them?  

But if you have vintage 1928 across the board--steer clear (I would) due to investment required to make it safe and habitable. 1970 in original condition you could probably make work for less.