From what I can see from the windows it seems the bank has kept the utilities and AC on, and aside from a carpet cleaning and some paint it is pretty clean.All that being said I'm am thinking of picking it up to rent for a few years, then I'll upgrade the kitchen and flooring and move into it, and rent my current home, or sell it depending on how strong the market is and move on to the next investment.Problem is that while I have awesome credit (820+) and work history, I only have maybe 5k cash I can use for the property, the rest needs to be mortgaged.

No currency or central bank has ever survived in history.  

Fellow UofM business school alum here.  

I think you need a couple of years history before the lender will take rental income into consideration.

I went to school back in 2009 and became a certified computer repair technician in hopes of using it as a stepping stone to go back to school and formally get the education I didn't get because I didn't see the value of school then.

IN YOUR AREA OF CT.Look for underpriced properties in owner occupied neighborhoods with low crime and good schools. 

I know in some communities, "schools" may be a driving factor  and the supply and demand of property values will go up.

In my town, Utility companies get a big deposit on users with bad credit history or with no history at all.

You need to interview and check history on these people.

Know this, even though a tenant comes from another agent, you or your property manager should absolutely do the background checks, credit screening and rental history checking.