I'd much rather own property in a town that doesn't need to sell itself off :)Seems to me the buyer will need deep pockets to do the historic renovations the town seems to be indicating they want.  700 people is a tiny market, it's hard to imagine there's enough demand to revitalize that downtown

Carolina, Thousand Oaks is an extremely desired area to live in Ventura County.

The market we are in is extremely hot for sellers, such that most duplexes have multiple offers at or above asking after only a day or two on the market, which makes it difficult to request additional information ahead of making an offer, such as the lease, yet remain competitive and timely. 

The info you provided is extremely helpful.

The odds of it going south very badly are extremely high.I think you should be looking for a good General Contractor first.

It needs some work, but I used the VA home loan when the lake was extremely low. 

We’ve found both the book and the online tools extremely valuable so I’d encourage to look into them!

When it comes to investing out of state it is extremely important to build a reliable team in the market you want to buy.

@Fay Brown every single time I’ve bought property there’s been some compromise.It is extremely rare to find exactly what you want in any market, though obviously it’s easier in buyer’s market (ten years ago) then a seller’s market (today).A good real estate agent should be able to help as far as what are realistic expectations and what are some areas where compromise might be advisable, in order to open up the field of possibilities a bit.It’s definitely true though, that type of financing (or lack thereof, in your friend’s case) has no effect on determine what’s out there, available in the market for making an offer.My usual advice here is: Make your own market.

But the fact that she only paid a quarter of her rent less than a week after she was let go says to me that paying rent is either extremely low on her priority list or that she is irresponsible with her finances.