Remember the more units you acquire the more likely you are to cover your mortgage but at the same time you will also need to be able to qualify for these high ticket properties. 

My personal opinion is (I want to build long term wealth in addition to my 40 hr a week job) that building a cash flow positive tenant based investment portfolio with covered risk is the best way to build long term wealth.Thanks for your input!

@Seth Williams does agentpro24/7 only cover Arizona, California, Florida, Colorado, Nevada for the foreclosure lists?

The challenge with Hilton (and many desirable areas of Newport News), is that the price of homes is such that anyone who would pay rent that would cover the cost of a town home (as a buy and hold investment strategy) in Hilton would also be very likely to want to own and can likely do so. 

Just buying materials, or replacing just a cover plate, wouldn't restart the clock.

Generally speaking I would only vote for the first option, since I don’t see a way to cover your investment in solution two other than purchasing the property at some point.

I’ve seen the county cover the cost of clean up (sometimes partial, sometimes full).

Our no-smoking policy covers the whole premises, not only the inside.

Check these for inspirations: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/painted-stairs/Or you can use some rubber treads to cover old/ugly sub treads, and still paint risers white. 

Or would it be best to get a conventional loan and charge regular rent to cover the mortgage?