After comparing what I saw online and while doing research in Memphis for a month prior to going out there, and then seeing the actual home quality when I was touring, I would almost never purchase a house without at least visiting the area once and knowing a lot about who is selling me the home. 

@Dannie Barlow Can you get access to all the properties, so a quality home inspection can be done?  

I would get quality insurance and then I would open up a separate checking account.  

There are a few agents that specialize in that area but they bring different qualities to the table.Are you looking for resale, buy, rehab?

Overall, lower quality unit = lower quality tenant = higher risk and higher bad debt (and higher legal costs) = lower NOI = reduced value.

For this reason, I use the rent/cost ratio as my primary rental valuing technique and the cap rate as second due to the major contingent factors with renting a SFH (quality of management and simple variance).

If construction is booming and they are working on larger jobs then it will be very hard to find affordable good quality contractors at good prices.

Have them send you pictures of the issue immediately and there are VERY Good Foundation companies and GUYS here that would look out for you to make sure you get a good estimate ans quality work. 

Matt Rosas no we don't...we're a quality cleaners, not a laundry.

Such properties often turn investors with good intentions into slumlords, cutting costs increases profits but later on it can cost you in various ways, city officials, legal issues, insurance can go up, quality of tenants goes down, a property can become a liability.