Call and say "I'm calling about a house in 'city' I drive by it and it appeared to be vacant I'm wondering if u might be considering selling the house" then listenIf they ask what your offer is, switch the conversation to the condition and try to get as much info as u can get them to tell u about the house.

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Hopefully - you are cash-flow positive yet report little to no income on your tax return thanks to depreciation and other expenses.You may not be entitled to start taking expenses until the property is ready for its intended use as a rental property which appears to be in August.Gather up all the expenses from now to August because those will be added to basis and depreciated when you place the property in service.The good thing about Texas is that the state does not have a state income tax. 

I've seen 'buyer appears to be paying significantly below market value' but they still didn't put a number on it and the bank would still only lend 80% of PP for me.

No employees makes life a little easier. 

I know easier said than done.On the flip side, you should be able to get an amazing deal on the property since it's empty. 

There are more details but I tried to summarize to make it an easier read.

@Michael Pitsos It doesn't appear that you're considering other expenses that will drive your negative cash flow further into the red such as capex, repairs, vacancies, management, etc.

@Harrison CookYour post kindles lots of questions.In the "good old-days" most heating systems were vastly oversized for the building they were heating - energy was relatively cheap, insulation was non-existant to poor ... so it was easier and safer to {drastically} oversize.Today, while energy {in North America}  is still relatively cheap for the moment,  we have a much better understanding of how to make buildings more efficient {though you might not think so looking at the construction industry in the U.S.A. and Canada}  and there are often more cost-effective measures than simply replacing an old, over-sized heating plant with a new, over-sized heating plant.You really need to - or at lease should -  perform a heat load analysis to properly size your heating system, a component of which, is determining the rate of heat loss of the building envelope.  

@Brian Schmelzlen Getting a seasoned apartment is easier said than done.