If the roof was 10 years old, they wanted a new roof; if the electric service was 150 amp and perfectly suitable for their needs, they still wanted an upgrade to 200 amp; windows needed to be replaced if they didn't all match; etc.  

Additionally, being able to preview property as a licensed real estate professional can mean that you acquire a good understanding of valuation of properties through finding suitable comps.Much success in real estate investing!!

Often people think this will mean you're living in a 2/1 apartment, but I would look for attached townhome style quads (seen some under 125000 in my area that rent out each unit for 850-900 a month...do that cap rate!)

We'll have to add that, the style of teaching I guess you would call it, into the criteria as we're figuring this out.

Figure out the pros and cons of different styles of investing and start planning.

What I would pay...give or take:Gut rehab - $40/sfNew construction - $65/sfNot saying you'll get those prices (could be higher or lower given you probably have different contractors, different design style, different definition of mid- to high-end finishes, different material suppliers, different negotiating skills, different level of experience, etc), but that's about what I expect...

@Michael Noto I have a side by side townhouse style duplex with finished lower levels that are 1500 square feet of living space each.

Sometimes you get into neighborhoods where this doesn't work so what you're left with is same square footage +/- 10%;  same style;  same category of house (SFR, multi family 1-4;  ...)  

Househacking Billionaire Style. 

I am currently working on getting my real estate license in PA and right now I'm interested in purchasing a suitable property for my first fix and flip.