I know that, at first, option b sounds like the clear choice, but I am worried that I will not be able to afford to buy the house AND pay for the repairs.

Bill and I agree that getting the deed is the best choice, period.  

You have a choice of a partnership or an s-corp in multi-member LLC scenarios.

Condos to begin are a poor choice for investment in rentals, Condo fees usually kill the cash flow, increases are very common as well as special assessments which often are in the thousands.Also as a landlord you must be aware that a lease is not a binding agreement, tenants will walk away at the drop of a hat.

I suppose it does come down to personal choice more than anything.

And third which is bit coming from Brandon Turner podcast and weekly seminars I watched in the pass is get a FHA loan to buy a new house and get a 203k loan to do improvements while gaining rental income from your previous properties and pay for loan you took out.So overall these three choices are not easy but they can help giving you some direction and some experience in term of investing so hope this helps. 

But as it stands I think you've already made the choice.

If you do have the money, you have a choice to buy this opportunity or not.Essentially, all Investments are a risk.HOWEVER, the more research you do, the more you can reduce that risk.If you do your research and you find out that the adjecent neighborhoods have Gentrified and that they are NOW spilling into the Flatbush area AND you have noticed that the City has invested in public transportation (they opened up a new subway station in the Flatbush area), you can make a fairly intelligent guess that the high price will only get higher, recognizing it as an opportunity.However, if your research does NOT indicate that this property will be at a higher price in the future, and you do not buy this property, you can't get lucky here and have to look elsewhere.Now, let's say you recognized the opportunity AND you were prepared and you BOUGHT this 3 family investment in Flatbush.10 years later, that $1 Million purchase you made in the year 2020 is now worth $2 Million in 2030.What do you think your friends and family would say when you tell them that you bought your 3 Family Flatbush property for $1 Million 10 years ago and you made $1 Million in unrealized profits today in 2030?

@Roland Wiederaenders is a good choice and can probably help you out a lot.  

If he's raising your antennae, move in.It's your property and your choice.