There's a thread here on BP where someone gutted a big house that was just incredibly trashed from hoarders.

If we assume your new build costs are $110/ft2 (just a bit higher than my area), you should be able to do a full gut renovation for somewhere in the range of $50-70/ft2, depending on how much of the exterior needs to be replaced (siding, roofing, concrete flatwork, etc). 

Easier to gut then to rehab around existing materials

My gut feeling is to put 20% down and avoid taking a line of credit for my first purchase.

My gut says sell.

Not sure how it will cost $30k to renovate the gutted unit.

It's about empowering people and that, to me, is awesome.I will give you my gut reaction - and maybe it is just based on my experiences and where I'm at now but -- to me it sounds like Rent-to-Own OR Lease-Option-to-Buy.

A motivated seller has a house that needs to be gutted and rehabbed or wholesaled.

Remain focused on your goals and trust your research—and your gut—when signs are pointing toward the door rather than the dotted line.4.

They will give you free info and education because they know your market and they know what deals will do well and what deals won't.In the end, trust your gut after doing the research.