I am with @Bill S. on this one.A site titled "the housing bubble blog" carries very little weight just because of the name, followed by the poor information I put this one away in the round file. 

Hello Everyone,I saw an abandoned home while visiting a friend. 2 weeks later i saw a ticket on the door with a fine saying they needed to clean up the property.

You seem to be really open to several strategies which is good because you get a more rounded self education. 

We will either sell when we PCS from Charleston, or hopefully turn it into a year-round rental property.Sharee

I grew up in Alaska, but I train horses and the conditions just aren't great for outside work year round, so I moved to the states.

I know several contractors with whom I work, that don't advertise in any way, shape or form and yet they have steady, year-round work... all referral or repeat based... at retail.

Also, find out the remaining life expectancy of the bigger ticket items like the roof, elevators, etc. that may bring a special assessment should the reserves fall short.

So, you could win the first round but lose on the second round, and merely get you deposit money back.Private auctions are conducted, too.

It takes a little time to populate everything so if you have 20+ properties, it may not be the best ticket.  

It's oil-based and you should be able to get away without priming or using poly.