However, if you did get it at that reduced price… just to either fix the trashed homes or have them hauled off and disposed of would take a couple of years to get your money back (at $240/mo profits).

You still need to know the market, financing issues, tear down and hauling off issues, and new construction.

You can not legally enter the property at this point, but if it appears Vacant/Abandoned, please proceed with Caution but evaluate or inspect the property at least, and check-out the county records (Assessment info, Code-Enforcement-Violations, if any, Market-Value, etc...) before you ever place a bid on the property.Once you are comfortable with your research, determine the maximum amount you will bid, but do not overbid---as there will be Hundreds of Deals available over the long-haul.  

.* buy for appreciation- we are in this for the long haul and want to make sure our appreciation exceed inflation.

That's actually the plan I have as of now: to house hack my first couple, build up equity in them and then eventually maybe sell some in order to by a bigger/better producing property or just hold on to them for the long haul.

One day (soon) I am looking to get into rental properties for the long haul.

Since I am in it for the long haul, I'm not going to rush into something but I feel like there are deals to be had with the right approach. 

I speak with people all the time that have researched and toyed with the idea of investing for years.

Think about how much less attractive it is to take a HELOC to buy anything today than it was a year ago - be it investments or toys. 

Stick with sponsors that have proven track records and just be ready to be in it for the long haul (however long the business plan is).