As others advised, get a structural engineer in there to review the conditions.

Which do you think will be more competitive, buying from wholesalers or your own referrals?

Once the property is in a rentable condition you can explore a strategy to rent it STR, MTR, or long term.

PMs have to keep the utilities working for various reasons (uninhabitable living conditions, pipes freezing, etc) and you can't count on a tenant like this to do that.

We worry about the hassle of dealing with properties in poor condition and not building enough equity.

What is advantageous is someone that is good at underwriting and unbiased (only analyzes the deal based on the underwriting without other emotions).Note i have a fair amount of experience and plan to place a competitive offer tomorrow that the underwriting dictates not placing a competitive offer.  

This will lead to many of the professionals in the same industries who already are not doing that well to fall out of competition and hence be "replaced'.

These can sometimes offer good value and less competition from large investors.Key Questions to Ask Yourself:to @Joe Villeneuve point...what research are you looking at.Cash Flow vs.

Hugely popular area.Our cabin is doing good, hopefully the calendar will fill in more throughout the year.Although lots of people visit the area there is a lot of competition. 

I only operate 1 house I bought this year, but I'm eager to stand out in the competition.