I'm a newbie investor as well but let me know if I can ever help with anything.I'm sure you've already done this in terms of repair costs but if you haven't ....I have found great sites on Google that estimate local costs. 

I frickin love this site.

Do you have any suggestions on how I can add value to an investor other than performing a very detailed inspection? 

Some options there are to One:  follow properties posted on various sites and follow the posting back to the listing company and ask how to register on their list. 

About 60 people attend on average and there are no sales pitches allowed, just information and networking.Another great one is ran by Propelio who do sell an investor site and have vendors show up but are mainly a networking hot bed.

Friend purchased this home site unseen in 2015 for 34,500 for her daughter to have a home while going to school.

I am relatively new to this forum and REI; i have read a lot of blogs on this site, and are very informative.

(I can't buy where I currently live because it is insanely expensive).I see several houses for sale in this price range, and all of them look to be big-time fixer-uppers, which is totally fine, but I'm not sure how to analyze the area around the house, the other houses near it, the location, and determine if it would perform well. 

The business must be an active enterprise performing a service or selling a product. 

I'm still familiarizing myself with the site.