Perhaps there is a flipper in the area that would advise you, or help you make connections or maybe just helps you see a solution you wouldn't have seen yourself....and bring them in on equity in the deal so they have skin in the game.Good Luck!

The answer on BP is always “it depends...” and then I get the subjective pros and cons without any actionable steps for finding solutions to which option works best for me.

If the place is still fire damaged, just make sure your offer covers the $20G or so of additional costs it will take to remove all the contaminated building materials to a certified location rather than your local dump.If it has already been repaired, then there are different solutions.  

The FHA solution will prevent you from taking on many distressed properties.

Even though making them into ADU would bring our lot coverage well above 45% , the city would not be able to prevent us from doing so due to the state lawThis seems silly and highly inefficient, however it may be the only solution. 

Wanted to seek opinions from experts/pro's- are deals/ads posted in craiglist for Realestate sale reliable/worth looking in to? 

@Michael Doub without a SSN you can't screen properly and no reliable ID.

Sites like Zillow seem to compare properties that aren't all that similar and their rent estimates seem inaccurate.Does anyone have a solution to this problem?

Again, what’s the solution?

Their job is to take complaints from citizens and City Counsel members concerning long-term problem locations and find solutions.