Can I raise rents and/or force appreciation through rehabbing it?

It occurred to me to buy one of the retirement THs as an investment property, rent it to retirees, and in the meantime let the imbalance of supply and demand force appreciation upwards, then 1031 the equity into something else later.

I am a retired Air Force Veteran turned Lean Six Sigma Black Belt facilitator, teacher and performance improvement consultant for an academic medical center.

Typically we are trying to find distressed below market props where we can force the equity but in this case, the potential to increase the value would be more in the lot splitting. 

They owe, make them pay.In the mean time rebook a inspection and force them to let you and the inspector to enter.

They can't force you to stay beyond the end of your lease term or charge you a penalty if you leave when your lease is up.

No forced air/ductwork in this house.

Since Im mainly involved on the financing end I would look at the after repair value (ARV) of the construction, permits/softcosts, holding costs, land acquisition costs, and etc to make sure you have sufficient margin or safety for profit if you need to sell or equity if you need to refinance or take out that construction loan so you can hold.I would always recommend multiple exit strategies prepared in advance so you arent forced to take any specific route.Generally Land acquisition costs are 10-20% of project cost but in areas where the ARV is 300-400 persqft or higher you can pay a higher cost for land and still make your intended equity creation (if you intend to refi) or profit margin (if you intend to sell). 

Add a ventilation fan to the laundry area and/or forced air flow, to help keep the moisture down.6.

This will force you to pay the fees twice.