They had signed the lease, but I had held off signing until they paid the upfront move-in costs. 

If you're $400/mo below market it seems like there's a decent incentive for you to spend some money to aggressively rehab and get top rent.

I can understand that low cost housing will appeal appeal to a different tenant profile, but if the product itself is very good won't it also attract the kind of tenant you want more readily?!?

There are also several build-to-rent projects going on with builder financing deals snd some even offering perks like property management (even free for a period) so maintenance costs can be kept lower in the beginning years. 

Low acquisition price, medium investment cost.

Have you ever done a rehab nearby?

Since 2009, I've owned a foreclosure-rehab turned house hack (5 BR 3 BA).

I'd recommend the latter for someone starting out-- you could use a 203k loan which helps you finance rehab costs into your loan.

@Anastasia Jordan, ADOR does like to hear about it if you are a neighbor or live nearby and plan to rehab the property.

There was an additional cost of 3k that we didn't expect because we didn't walk the attic, but that's to be expected for a sight unseen offer.