I don't see any issues other than decontamination aspects and that cost may well be covered by health departments.

Either,a) buy on sub2 orb) buy on lease option and assignthenMarketing to buyersa) try a meetup.com group  see http://www.meetup.com/Rent-to-Buy-Homes-Santa-Mari...b) give speeches to groups about home ownership (Lions Clubs, etc)c) contact buyers agents for buyers that need time to qualifyd) contact employers for new out of state employees - Human Resourcese) flyers where people rentGet all buyers through a RMLO first.  

And I've learned a mind-boggling amount about houses, running a business, the process of buy/rehab/sell, the nature of contractors, humanity, and most importantly, what I'm capable of, what I like and don't like, and very specific positive and negative aspects in my personality in relation to REI.

I guess it speaks to the over all health of the market when big operators margins slip so low they need to step to this level.  

However it is not like a lone steel plant closing in a small town when it comes down to its core economy health.

I know habitat for humanity has done a number of these projects. 

@Michael Heal The suburbs are a better bet.  

Budgeting the time and money to move forward is key, as well as maintaining my health and energy to be able to follow through.

In some jurisdictions you may also have different building, health, welfare regulations being classified as an apartment than a single family dwelling (which is 1-4 family attached structures).

Several years ago, after some health briefly affected my voice and I no longer had an office with staff (yay!)