Call the city and ask for zoning. they want neighborhood improvement and responsible landlords, often badly.

Have wanted to be a REI since high school and now that I'm saving a good portion of my income I had the same thought of trying to get into wholesaling as a relatively low risk high reward option however for me personally, I think the best use of my time will be served on improving myself and my knowledge base while saving up as much as I can.

After talking to several other agents in the area, we decided that the value of the home in decent condition is roughly $240,000, which gives us some room for improvement.  

Start looking now, saving more at this point will not improve your plan.

However the one for 259K pretty much has all the improvements that the $325 one is offering.  

Its often talked about using a HELOC to help purchase other rentals, home improvements etc.

We made an offer on some apartments last August and the Sale Agreement included $20,000 in escrow and $5,000 cash to go toward some current improvements.

Raising rents on SFRs will never change the appraised value.Not true ... buying a SFR under retail market value that is below the comps and then improving it to the level of those comps in a manner that costs less than the value added is forcing appreciation.

I started with a horrible score, but worked my butt off to improve it.  

Its difficult to know where the market is going but if you buy something that will cash flow after your improvements then it doesn't really matter.