After a while you start to know what to look for and may be able to find the big issues yourself.I have found that Baltimore-especially the city, has plenty of cheap 100+ year houses with serious structural, foundational, etc. issues that I, like you, would not have the stomach to want to deal with if they gave it to me for free!

I got lucky on being knowledgeable when prices were still cheap.

Look - I know investors are enticed by the word "cheap" (I'm an investor too), but "cheap" and "contractor" should never be used in the same sentence.  

It simply feels like a cheap slap together house that someone is trying to make a quick buck off of.  

As their is only baseboard heat and window air now.  3-4k per apt is a pretty cheap install.  

If you have cheap leverage and the ability to earn a higher ROI on the money by using it to fund the next venture I would use it towards the next venture & keep the loans open.

If it is and big sheets of the cheap thin stuff people were using in the 70s, remove it or cover it.

Money is just so cheap right now and the market is treating me so well I'd rather not dump all my cash into a down payment

Due to the heavy market crash in the Phoenix real estate market, I found myself working primarily with investors looking to build rental portfolios on cheap homes and for properties to purchase, renovate and re-sell.

(It can be cheap beer, PBR, Milwaukee's Best.