That heat scares me.

When the word asbestos is thrown around people freak out and get scared.

If your posts are a jumbled mess, you will very quickly scare others off.

Well I haven't worked in residential for years and years (long time ago).When I did a newbie investor would be looking for a house with just cosmetic (carpet and paint) to flip.The newbie investor was scared of anything more substantial.Problem was all the regular home buyers would bid close to asking or over because they were fine with fixing up and having 5k to 15k equity afterwords.The investor could not buy at those margins unless they were holding to rent out and the rental numbers made sense for the price paid.So in my opinion finding a home near mint that needs little work at a low price is finding a needle in a haystack.More realistic for flipping is finding properties needing substantial work where the owner occupant is scared away.You the investor can get the problems fixed really cheap below regular labor and material rates.This helps you achieve more leverage to buy the property at a lower price and create more equity on the rehab as well.That is probably where the bigger returns are.

To the seller, it could scare them further and be something you could negotiate with.

For long term strategy i would suggest finding a trust that manages a sector that you're comfortable with (NNN leasing, health care facilities, large residential complexes, etc.) but if you are just looking to do a little gambling, a mortgage based REIT can provide insane div yields, for a while at least.

The financial aspect of renting rooms is astronomical to your wealth and I would not let these small scares shy you away.

": About a year and a half ago, I did indeed have a family health hardship and a business financial hardship.

You are virtually guaranteed to either (1) tick off the current tenant and make his or departure stressful and/or (2) scare off good prospective tenants who will see the unit in a less than desirable state (after all the tenant is moving, so the place is likely to be trashed).

What have you done about health insurance?