Since you're now trying to improve and resell, it would be best to use seller financing for acquisition. 

If the other 6 all need $2,00 of new appliances and HVAC improvements then that will not be very fun.  

@Trevor Ewen  I'm sure it's just me but as a buy&hold investor, I'm focused on the performance numbers of the property and not concerned at all regarding tenants. 

To overcome this obstacle, you may want to look for a non performing building with a motivated seller.

(c) The licensing requirements of this Article do not apply to: (1) any person who is employed as a code enforcement official by the State of Illinois or any unit of local government, while acting within the scope of that government employment; (2) any person licensed by the State of Illinois while acting within the scope of his or her license; or (3) any person engaged by the owner or lessor of residential real property for the purpose of preparing a bid or estimate as to the work necessary or the costs associated with performing home construction, home remodeling, or home repair work on the residential real property, provided such person does not hold himself or herself out, or advertise himself or herself, as being engaged in business as a home inspector.

My thought behind doing this would be twofold:1) I can deduct my home improvement expenses (cleaning, painting, remodeling).2) I can deduct the business loss from my personal incomeCan I do this?

Under a county program, I qualify for an income-based first time home buyer loan with these terms:The loan requires 3% down payment  No mortgage insurance  The maximum loan amount is $417,000 Provides first time buyers with up to 25 percent of the purchase price to assist with the down payment and closing costs.When it comes to resale values in these loans, there is a set price value when selling: "The Set Price is calculated as: original price paid, plus annual appreciation based on increases in the Area Median Income (average 2-3% annual appreciation), plus the cost of capital improvements made to the property.Is anyone familiar with these types of loans? 

Request the "official" version, from their accountant, which is filed with their tax return.Other than that, a good property inspector should point you in the right direction as far as what areas could give you problems and what capital improvements you should make to avoid things breaking up later.

Hopefully Indy can use some of the problems Baltimore has gone through with the program to make improvements to the system. 

Those are what will point the right direction for you.The way you protect yourself from a market downturn is to vet the market to make sure it is resistant (i.e. not single industry as Detroit was), vet the neighborhood (improving?