check city info statistics. any jobs? 

If the place is in good shape and the condo board does a good job managing it, that $50 a month will increase every year with annual rent increases.

Ideally I would like to quit my job and focus on real estate full time but unsure of how to navigate that as a military family.

My area basements are very common. crawlspaces are also a thing ..

Finally, resist the desire to make a big advance to your contractor for materials at the start of the job.

Hey Jason, the best way to find these distressed properties (off-market deals), you have to either do it yourself, which is a full-time job calling and building relationships with these cold sellers, or find investor-friendly agents/wholesalers sourcing these deals for you.

Don't pay seller late this is important to be able to refinanceGo find a w-2 job today, any job that brings in cash or gig money not uber that wrecks your car.

Nice job!

My husband and I are both in full-time jobs in the real estate world.

I didn't do a great job of explaining the situation in my original post but added some color in a follow up post.