@Sam FackrellI responded to the sellers ad.

Many of the building in the city have had lots of illegal bedrooms added, especially on the third floors...  

I have a landscape background so we wouldnt have an issue adjusting the grade to the house and tiering the back yard, adding drain tile etc if we decide to move forward.

I'm attending an event tonight.Using Google Alerts.

After adding value via rehab then it is easy to refinance either with a Fannie/Freddie loan (some need seasoning) or with a blanket loan solution.  

It did not need many renovations as it is in a relatively new building, I will put in 15k at most to upgrade kitchen by adding an island and do minor touch ups.

Blinds in a home by itself do not appear to be an unreasonable request and actually, you want to consider adding just as an extra amenity. 

I’m currently building a team to work with me on house flips and rentals, and I wouldn’t want this land I want for mostly personal use to mess with those goals.Some initial ideas on adding value to the property: -build a pond w/dock, add a food plot, maybe a small cabin to attract hunters/outdoorsmen-fence some or all of the area to make a small profit (enough to cover property taxes?)

Quick google search came up with a few things.

A LLC seems like the logical venue to achieve an offset to this year's taxes via MACRS along with adding to the basis with this year's improvements to the home, property taxes, etc. and luckily we already have one in good standing.