Handled the right way you could end up with a deal you could do or a wholesale opportunity.

What did they think of the small deck we put in leading out of the back door?

If you can start getting properties for pennies on the dollar, buyers will line up at your door.

In the warzone that I no longer invest in, I used to take old cabinet doors and screw them to the wall to cover holes.I would recommend thia practice for walls behind a shower.

It's not a huge deal, because the property cash flows approximately $200/door, which is a good return on $40k investment ($10k down).

Does anyone have any experience with investing into a rental property that has a connected (row house) abandoned property next door?

If you're just starting out and are short on funds, try wholesaling for a while until you have enough cash to invest in buy and hold.Once you start buy and hold, continue wholesaling as well for cash to buy more buy and hold.Once you get to, lets say 10 buy and hold properties, and have been wholesaling as well, maybe it's time to do a 1031 TDE into larger multifamily (think 50 doors or more) where you can control the value of the property better.

I will be using a VA Loan so me and my wife will have to live next door.

(granite, new fixtures, new cabinet doors, new wood/carpet, new paint, new toilets, landscaping, seal/spray the tub, new lighting, new doors, etc).

The current cash flow is about $100/month ($50/door).