I'm a mechanic by trade, so I'm use to getting my hands dirty and working long hours.

Dont worry about the mechanics. 

Inside city limits will avoid septic tanks and HOAs... but at our discussed price points won't be in very nice area.Kind of like the mechanic who says "Good, Fast and Cheap...pick any two".One thought that might work for you... around Silver Springs the local government has a program to convert over 800 homes from well/septic to water/sewer, to protect the spring-head from groundwater and runoff pollution.Maybe look for houses within that map that are on well and septic, then apply to have it converted at no cost to you...David

(They have a program called "Zillow Rent Connect" to basically get managers of 50-unit+ buildings to pay in order to have exclusive right to post the listings, and therefore save the 1k+ broker fee they normally pay) Overall the game mechanics of these services can be split in 2 types: A. 

Avoid getting a mechanics lean2.

Their mother began renting it out in 1957 and it has only had 9 tenants since 1957.Most of the major mechanicals/expensive items have been updated such as:     New Roof 7 years ago     New Hot Water tank     New Plumbing this year     Foundation Repairs last year     New Air Conditioner Condensing Unit todayI also asked him his bottom line and I think that I will be able to get him down to $65k.Does this change anyone's answer?

They also tend to not report plumbing or mechanical issues with a property as they are not paying for it.

On top of that, if the property has been vacant for 5 years, you're likely looking at at least a major cosmetic renovation, and potentially a large mechanical renovation as well.

Bill, I believe I understand the mechanics of the second option (sub2 with second mortgage) but I don't quite understand what you mean by "contract including financing".

Depending on what mechanicals are there multiply that by at least 4.