My escrow officer mentioned the following : "I’m wondering if having an option with the seller would be do-able….

I did mention in some cases (from what I've been told), that the bank will give relocation money, but I did not make any promises.

You are starting this at a good age to live out your dreams.I am 60 years old and I live in Dallas County Texas and I have not traveled much out of this state.  

I personally dont like YL for the reasons you mentioned, but pretty much all marketing methods work with enough volume (postcards, YL, flares, smoke signals, etc).It DOES attract sellers, since I know some great investors who ONLY use yellow letters.  

If you rebuilt for 80k for even numbers, it would take you 11 years at $600/mo in rent to recoup the 80k not to mention other expenses.  

@David Ebbeson What are those 2 websites you mention for rehabbing?

But I wouldn't mention that.

If they are all clean cosmetic rehabs that are fully modernized then you either have to rip it down and drywall everything or do something creative like the others have mentions in this thread.

Just give them the details of the property, beds, bath, garage, exterior, age of roof, as much as you can, your asking price, whether seller or buyer pays closing, and the rest is on their end. 

Going to newer homes in better locations and letting someone else deal with an aging asset is a much better plan, especially as you reset your tax depreciation and learn to do cost segregation!