I'm guessing.I also thought this could be a good compromise since if I ever needed to, I could live in one of the units and commute the 2 hours to my office a couple of days a week to maintain some of the income I make locally out here, if I needed to do so.Any advice about this idea?

I don't ever remember looking for a house and filtering it by heating type, so it probably will not affect your buyer traffic either way.If all the other homes in the area have the same gas boiler heating system then I would leave it alone.  

That is why I will typically always ask for a full 2x the rent value as a deposit, and I'd be doing so more than ever in a lower-class area.

I would think people have an easier time paying a few grand more for a house (getting a larger mortgage) than having to scrape together cash after they close to sod a yard.You are also asking to track in more dirt without having grass in the front.

I'm not sure I knew what one was when I was in college, much less ever turned one on. 

Welcome to BP - where ever you decide, be sure to look up the local REIA group and plan your site visit around the meetings of the groups that meet if you can, then you can hit a meeting and make a lot of live connections to build your team.  

I've invested in stocks and FOREX for years, but haven't ever taken the RE plunge.

You could also fix it and then sell it for more than your contracted price without ever owning it.

If your ever looking to buy rentals or even do flips in the Philadelphia market feel free to reach out to me anytime.

Also my dad is a contractor... worst businessman in the world, married to my mother, the worst property manager ever (whom I love).