The house has appreciated nicely but it has some major structural problems with the foundation.

Im currently active duty military, for atleast another 3 years, and looking to get started in rental properties and ultimately get to commercial deals.

Since you will be quite tied up during medical school, maybe a more passive investment may be a better course than something more active.  

I'm new to real estate investing and actively taking action in the Fairfield County, CT market.

Our area is very active on the site so I recommend searching for threads that may already have some of these questions answered.

If you want to be more pro-active - drive your vehicle to that vacancy -Talk to as many neighbors as you can - let them know that you are interested in that property (or others that they may be able to refer you to) some neighbors won't cooperate with you since they may think you are a bill collector.Get the tax ID of the ownershipGo to white pages - search for the ownersPut a notice on the door for the owner to call youCheck to see if it has housing code violationsLiens - see if you can buy the lien and foreclose (or take an option to buy the lien - forecloses on your option)Check to see if it is in Tax Sale - contract the tax sale purchaser to see if you can take assignment of their positionCheck to see if it is in foreclosureMake sure you look at the back of the houses - talk to the neighbor at the rear of the housesFind out if it has been listed - by whom and for how long - call the real estate agent (they are the ones who know how to contract the owner) ask the agent "are you still accepting offers on that property?"

The vast majority of agents know precious little , if anything about investing.

i think that appreciation is probably a bit too rich, its more likely to be flat in the next 3 yrs... i think houston has overshot its value relative to other metros, you can probably google articles about it being overpriced relative to other major metros.  

I want the tenants to move out solely because the place needs a major renovation and subsequent rental price increase.

Theres a ton of solid AirBnb activity there too.