Make sure you have an agent, property manager, and general contractor on your team that are very familiar with the area.Most of those neighborhoods are block by block.Where are you from? 

~Unlist the old listing from the previous owner and create your own, blocking out the booked dates.

Can you convert a metes and bounds to a lot and block?

Make concrete plans on how to achieve those goals breaking them down into as many steps as necessary.

A deck more so than a patio in my opinion, but it also depends what kind of patio if it's just poured concrete if it's made with pavers, etc. 

We ended up laying down Kilz on the concrete before laying the flooring.

But Milwaukee is really block by block in some parts, you drive 5 minutes and it looks and feels way different.

During my first rehab, I had to replace a section of the concrete driveway.

The electrician , plumber , HVAC , concrete ,  contractors ALL mark up their materials .

Other places a landlord who enforces a late fee for a few days delay will get concrete down the toilet and tenants who leave chaos behind in revenge.