If you have the time, and are handy, and want to save on money I would rent the belt sander from home depot, the one that uses the round sand paper ( not the flat square one). 

As someone born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, I wouldn't touch anything in the city with a ten foot pole.

After spending almost every day in my target areas, getting to know the streets and neighborhoods, and chatting up anyone in a 5 foot radius, I have made some progress!

Lowe's is a running a deal that ends tomorrow.Lowes flooring eventThe prices seem really good.So my rentals on my apartment need new flooring to get rent ready.I know I have to pay attention to the total cost.Example flooring is .68 a square foot but they want 2.00 a sq ft to install.I was thinking if I got a Lowe's card I could save 10% to 20% on top of the sale price.I would have them install if rates were reasonable.Thanks

Seller carry IO 55K for 5 years at 9%.The building is 70 years old, with an original square footage of 500sqft.

. * Tear off slate roof and lay new asphalt shingles, 16 square total - $180/square plus any extra wood decking that has to be added.

Inspector says sounds like a good plan and should work well.I glue bottom 2 foot of 2 inch foam on half the house and the phone rings.

@Nick Dallaire have you considered "House Hacking" (cred to Brandon Turner) as a means of getting your foot in the door?

How does the seller see the lot, all with a price per foot or as a more valauble lot as that makes a difference on you LTV needing to be weighted overall or providing for a release with higher security given in say all other lots or perhaps just a few more, in other words, raising the loan to value from say 75 to 85 on three other lots to equal the higher dollar value of a prime lot being released.

Also, all homes are going to have their own issues, whether it's unlevel floors, walls that aren't square, door frames that need tweaking, etc.