The house is in the probate process and the probate judge just released the house to be sold.The house was built in 1972 and has not had any major upgrades since it was built and there is a plumbing issue going on.

While it is a single family (built 2005) you could rent 2 of the rooms out and keep one for yourself.

how long are you going to be in town?

We built our current house rather than finding a good deal. 

Also you could find a stable smaller town where there is a stocks of small multis.

I have bought houses for as little as 1200 that already had a built in tenant.

I located a run down property that is on a very large lot in the center of town n a profitable neighborhood.

Here in RI , in some towns, it can matter if you are allowed to  rebuild. 

She took the sellers word on the size- they said it's what the house's size was reported at during the last appraisal, though she never confirmed it by viewing the appraisal.We want to address the large disparity in sq. ft. prior to closing, but our realtor has indicated she's out of town until Saturday.  

If it is something that is bound to deteriorate over time, that should be built into the owner's repair cost figures.