We are trying to put my name on the deed and take her off without her losing her benefits and avoiding transfer taxes.

You may have to go FHA or put 20% down though.Obviously, get 2-4 USA credit cards and use them at least once every 3 months to start building credit here.You can also try to piggyback on someone else's credit history, by having them add you to their credit account.

It feels like a huge chunk has already been put into this property.

I would reply back "how can we put an offer in if we have no idea of the condition of the home".Are these properties that are listed on the market?  

Or simply sell both props and put it into S&P500? 

I usually just put it into the 'construction/reserve costs' field. 

But overall the worst I can see it being is it needs electrical and plumbing and painting..It would be my first deal so it lets me put my foot in the door so I can then take a home equity loan out of it to get into my next deal with a higher chance to negotiate the price down.Also the population density of Puerto Rico is so high that it seems unlikely I won't be able to find a tenant rather quickly, especially when a majority of the island is under affordable housing..

Using an FHA loan, I'd put down 3.5%, although this would stretch my budget slightly.

Hearing all these "rookies" who are people just like me, talk about how they started and the risks and hard work they took and put in to achieve success is nothing short of inspiring.

Better to have it vacant then have a bad tenant put in.