I'm pretty risk tolerant, but I do think you should get a good financial footing under you before you start taking risks with investments. 

Think this through well so you don't shoot yourself in the foot.

YUP no agent is going to spend there time when U cannot transact and I am sure if the shoe was on the other foot you would not want anyone just playing you.what you can and should do though is go to open houses.. this is free to all. 

When we purchased the property, effective rents were roughly $.79/square foot.

The estimate is as follows:1) “dig 18”x18”x12” footings, install four #4 rebar reinforcements and fill using 4000 psi concrete.

I was thinking of sending them a welcome packet to start off on the right foot.- Got any other tips??

Unless there’s something else I’m missing, there is no world in which you should touch this deal with your worst enemy’s 10 foot pole...

I scraped and saved and, within a few months  had saved enough for the down payment on a 400-square-foot condominium.

Hopefully a good agent that knows what they are doing will sell it for you and deal with the hard parts of the sales process.Honestly, unless you have done SEVERAL real estate transactions yourself, know all the active, pending, and recent closed sales, knowledgeable with real estate financing and which lenders to use, know how to speak to appraisers, and are an expert negotiator, you are shooting yourself in the foot by not hiring a realtor. 

My personal recommendation would be that you look for something a little more straightforward, to get your foot in the door and start building relationships with folks who could help you pull this kind of project off.