Reinvested significant amounts of capital to clean up units/property/etc... 

We also handle cleaning/trashing out the place.

We are in the process of getting things cleaned up and turned around but it can take time. 

I have owned a few of these homes over 300 of them and NEVER once sold one for "appraised value always less" so the instant equity theory in my mind is just a feel good its not reality because you will never sell it for that.. it all boils down to rental returns.. andfrom what your saying the market appears to have cleaned out the bad landlords the uneducated and undercapitalized landlords and you have some stability.. it had to happen sometime.

English litt, might help you write compelling marketing materials to find good properties; Anthropology may allow you to understand different cultural shifts in the housing markets; history could teach a lot of market timings in Real Estate.I studies Electrical Engineering and Economics, neither of which gives me advantages in Real Estate.

Yes it would be a great investment as that area is also expanding and is a well kept clean neighborhood, before the market crash the property sold for 165k, boy did they purchase at the right time! 

And provide a clean, safe, place.

I called the County and there seem to be not permits for the unfinished large room, bathroom and laundry room on the ground level, but for a new slab and underground plumbing from 2005.We are thinking of buying the house and creating a studio on the ground floor and renting it out to a tenant.We have never dealt with permits, and we would probably hire a licensed contractor for the electricity, plumbing, heating, floors, walls and windows, but would do the rest ourselves. 

Simple math why this should work is - I am putting zero dollars from my pocket and getting new roof and ALL financing cost is covered by electricity generated by solar panels...net-net, zero impact on my bottom line and with in 5 years the value of my investment is increased by almost $300K++ because of new roof and solar electricity!!

Not afraid of doing the work other than structural, electrical and major plumbing.