I think I would be more comfortable buying my first property in an area where I could have high-quality tenants anyways, & I know that specific town is in pretty bad shape.Regardless, since I posted this yesterday that specific listing I was talking about has been taken down.

Don’t just pick the cheapest bid get someone who will do quality work and has a good track record.

Be patient and have confidence in your numbers and even in a crisis quality product moves.

Be patient and have confidence in your numbers and even in a crisis quality product moves.

With your salary (and assuming no other outstanding debt) you'll want to keep our mortgage payment to ~$1400.

How do I go about paying back the outstanding loan?

Be confident you can get high quality tenants that are less likely to file one on you which is usually determined by asset quality. 

On the positive, that area has outstanding historical appreciation.  

For example, my business has identified the need for a quality hydraulic dump trailer.

These are quality.