My thought was to totally gut the basement.  

We gutted it and than rented it out when we were transferred.

To frame the difference, the apartments in this building are renting for $2.5-$3.5/sqft ($500-$700 total rent, including utilities) versus $1.00-$1.50/sqft for other, nicer apartments ($750-$1,000 rent, typically not including utilities).My gut feeling is that tenants on SSI/Gov't subsidies have few housing options and therefore pay a premium on rent (on a $/sqft basis) due to not meeting income requirements, lack of credit, and being TAW.

Joe- that's what my gut tells me to do also.

He has done work on my own home as well as a full gut rehab and smaller jobs.

I recently gutted my Dad's mobile home and moved in.

Many properties today have been foreclosed on, gutted, etc and need major repairs. 

What does your gut tell you?

The properties were in New Orleans, so they would have been complete gutted (due to flooding by Katrina), and rebuilt totally.  

Sometimes we get lucky. banks can be so stupid - losing a sale over $2K I am not familiar with the area but my gut says that seems like a low price for the area.