I need guidance as to where to even begin the due diligence on such a project. 

your questions were all good, but that's all information you need to know before you even offer.and 2 visits probably won't be enough because you'll sell yourself on something you see and try to make it work.

Do those two items above 100% dictate needing a total gut or can a home be sold with the panel and the pipes how they are and can it be financed?

Finding a solid property management team is crucial, especially when managing from out of state.Having everything you need under one roof can really make a difference.

I've found even though you can get some modest discounts it makes things much easier to keep everything with the broker.

You can tell the seller you need them to pay some amount of commission up to the discounted amount of $5k.  

Will need more details to be sure, but we should be able to get around it.We can also work with the rural piece :-)Cheers!

Many times tenants would drop off the check in my mailbox, not so much anymore with Zelle. 

Thank you so much for your valuable advice.

My opinion for what it's worth, Account Closed, is that it's much harder to find a deal now and make the numbers work.I believe there is more "investors" or at least people attempting to invest than ever before - combine that with our current situation of higher than what "most of us" are used to and low inventory = 10X harder to find good deals - in my opinion.Wholesaling being easy is a myth...I know so many people here in Chicago who talk about it, but the number of people doing it at any scale for a length of time is nearly zero....the one guy I know who's been at it longer than most here in Chicago is @Zach Shepard and he's a silent snipper!