Quote from @Henry Peñate: Your gut is telling you the truth.

This was a near total gut rehab that we removed a wall, replaced all underground drain piping, re-raised the living room ceiling, and updated kitchen/bath.

I’m assuming it’s going to need a full gut job now to get it up to code.

Challenge to renovate an abandoned and gutted home to a profitable energy efficient rental unit.

I would say to have a mix of both, however I would say that first when starting out in a market, you need to analyze heavily the market and what is good and bad in the market. after becoming an expert in the market I would say that you can act more quickly because you can use your intuition and gut feeling on anything that looks good, and after running numbers if it makes sense go after it FAST!

My family and I lived in it for three years while I renovated the kitchen, painted every room, upgraded finishes, gutted and remodeled the master bathroom.

Trust your gut. 

@Kailas Tare    As a rehabber and lender I would suggest that on your first full gut rehab. you use a contractor.

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I love to talk real estate and for the cost of a cup of coffee I would be happy to sit down with you and spill my guts on the subject.