Nothing lowers the property value more than environmental cleanup and advertising it is not going to help.Just my 2 cents.

What you need to do now is set screening standards and write them down (make sure they don't discriminate). your standards should include things such as credit score minimum, income requirements, occupancy maximums (you have a legal limit, but you can set a lower limit if desired), as well as some rules such as: no prior evictions, no felonies, etc.

A few old tenants which isn't bad but has some lower quality tenants with ugly ran down homes/trash.

It’s a good time to inspect the service entry cables too, if the panel is that old, they may need to be replaced too for an additional $500-1000.

Do the math again (make sure to shop around for a bank with lower fees) and see if there is a solution to increases the value of it in a short time, so you can refinance it later after get a new appraisal after  rehabe....No deal is batter than a bad deal which will stress you out and not worthy of the time and $.  

This may work in your market or it may need to be slightly higher or lower.   

It's lower risk and you will learn a lot more.

Extended vacancies, higher turnover, lower quality tenant pool, etc. 

Your VA loan will allow you to finance the entire purchase of the property with no money down, and will get you a lower rate than if you went with another loan product.

From reading other posts, it seems like these areas have a more affordable entry point and potential for both cash flow and appreciation?