The tax laws here are antiquated, and quite frankly a bit whacked, for lack of a better word.

I am guessing you are not looking there, but I have found that the further west you go in MA the greater the likelihood of finding antique houses with details still intact.

If I were looking at a property with "antique" wiring, I would use that as a point to drop the price. 

Also keep in mind that while the price-to-rent ratio looks good on paper, maintenance and capital expenditures tend to be a bit higher in downtown Allentown than in other areas of the Lehigh Valley due to housing antiquity.

I did my recent rental in antique white, nice neutral color. 

I use Kilz as a primer and on the ceilings.Glidden antique white (slightly tannish) on all the walls. 

There are some gems of antiques here.Above the attic is a Belvedere which gives a panoramic of the city - at the time the house was built the owner would have been able to observe both the dockyard and his cotton mill from here.There is also a 3-story carriage house (800 ft^2 / floor) on the property which could be turned into a triplex - once you got all of the old tac and antique furniture out of it.I could get this house - which is still in the tony part of town - and its contents for an amazing price - but what would you do with it?  

They are being painted white and then hit with a pewter glaze for a unique antique look.

Now if you're thinking about all the Mom and Pop outfits out there trying to eek out a piece of the pie for themselves with antiquated, expensive and very limiting technologies then I couldn't agree more.In the early onset, as with most major growth industries, you will see a growth curve of small start ups cottage industry businesses surfacing and perhaps even sustaining themselves or even evolving into one of the major players. 

Restored antique and exotic cars.