Ask for the real estate meet up when you arrive, the room will be upstairs. 

I'd say look for something as cheap as possible but quickly rentable and run a scenario where if the market does crash, will you still be breaking even or cash flowing?

In calculating the Net Present Value of the investment, what is the appropriate methodology to use in arriving at a discount rate?

The 1990 property crash?

Its funny how the same principals /adages for choosing real estate investment are the same for public markets, but applied nearly opposite... yeah, actually the most differences between real estate and index/stock/options is that.......... with direct real estate, the risk/reward is not being shared to other investor although we follow the same local market trajectory in general ; while for stock/index/option the risk/reward is being shared among the masses.So when we say for example, S&P crashed 20%, the pain was shared to million people that experienced the same ; while for real estate if we have issue with our own, nobody care other than ourselves. 

Now, this 20k your are so positive you will achieve in appreciation; what if there is a major crash or some terror attack that destroys appreciation for many moons?

Back in the day before the catastrophic housing crash I noticed the DOM rapidly rising in Detroit. 

Obviously, I don't know anything about your finances, so for all I know, you may have a few million in the bank, and this project is just a fun experiment that wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket if it all turns south...but, regardless, you'll want to model out what would happen if this project crashes and burns...As you may know, managing a rental in a D to F area (or even a C area) is usually not recommended (for many reasons), and funding a rehab with credit cards is also usually not recommended (again, for many reasons). ...even highly experienced investors often won't touch anything lower than C grade because of all the difficulties of managing and re-selling them...If you're dead set on rehabbing the place and keeping it, I'd strongly suggest studying up thoroughly on the local rental market and tenant pool (e.g.; rent medians and lower and upper bounds, typical days on market before securing a tenant, local vacancy rates, tenants' typical income, education level, employment opportunities, credit, and rental history).

I live in the Bay Area and have been investing in stockton ever since the real estate crash there, and it has been one of the best places to put my money over the years

Tossing a bunch of rules at folks and not pumping up that enjoyment in the pre-arrival communications is a huge missed opportunity.