It's just a big wad of cash that - you hope - will be like throwing meat at a hungry animal chasing you: maybe it will stop them. 

Their idea of "fixing" this ended up being a fresh coat of paint to hide the rot.

Furthermore, knowing new orleans, there is a good chance the property has never gone through probate, and the legal owner is not clear or defined.I dont mean to scare you, but that is how I understand the current tax sale situation in new orleans (note that this does not address the new adjucation sale process, which is a totally different animal, and as I understand it was designed to address some of these issues I am discussing).Like I said, I am no expert on these tax sales, but I did do one successfully, and I am not very interested in doing another any time soon, until the law is clarified and tested.I would strongly suggest that you send those letters, consult a local real estate attorney (I can suggest a couple), and look into your properties a bit more.One additional thought: It is an option to not pay any additional taxes on the properties you bought the tax deeds on.

I'd be my own GC if all it needs is a coat of paint and new carpet, maybe a new roof.

I would get it matched at SW and repaint it - 1 coat A100 in whatever sheen it's already painted (looks FLAT from the one photo). 

I am not going to sugar coat it, but your loan paperwork needs to be figured out and on its way for pre-approval before submitting an offer out here if you want to have a chance.

The thicker cover holds more paint, the slower motion allows paint to really saturate the wall, filling in the low spots on the texture and, if you do it right, you only have to paint one coat.

Self directed IRAs (SDIRAs) are basically a different kind of IRA animal from those administered by investment managers like American Funds.

@Max JamesStudent housing is a whole different animal than what we were talking about above.  

If the trim isn't in bad shape, and the color is consistent, I would lean towards scrubbing it down with a light steel wool, and then applying a few coats of polyurethane.