Likely the reason why you got this off of a tax deed is that the prior owners determined they couldn't do anything with the land either and quit paying the taxes rather than throwing good money after bad.

@Vince Mack the biggest advice I can give new REI is they need to determine alot of things:1.

So simply keep track of the letters you send out and determine their "take" rate (what gets calls and what doesn't).  

I understand the ROI is infinite but this is also why its important to determine a minimum cashflow criteria later on, i.e. $150 cash flow per door.  

Part of my issue is determining how I should start financing my first deal due to the plethora of options available.

If a tenant calls me I do not pick-up and if they leave me a message I will deliberate on the issue and almost certainly respond no.3.

I am still picking up 70 cents on a dollar from MLS. but that's about it.

It is the way I have picked up some properties that are averaging 15-17% CoC with enough equity to pull out now that they are stabilized to buy another one.

The first thing you must do is determine the ARV! 

It's unlikely I would raise rents in this scenario as tenants would then be picking up their bill for heat/electricity.