Lack of inventory, lack of builders, and lumber prices, copper prices, plastic prices all surging massively new houses are so expensive to build that value will remain in older houses until demand is slaked. 

However, I need to have a way to do my part in bringing in income, my husband may need back surgery soon.

Surgery education?

Then start doing some cosmetic surgery. 

Get one of those plastic fish ponds and place it right in front of the gate on your yard .

Buy ready mix spackle from HD and a plastic 2" putty knife, run the spackle across the holes.

How would you pick any other professional - how would you pick a doctor for surgery, your attorney for your divorce?

We did work on it pretty diligently but both my wife and I had eye surgeries that delayed us, we worked on some other properties here and there, I made a trip to Africa for a couple weeks and so forth and so on.We'll have invested about $20k on top of the $6.5k we paid by the time we're done but it should be a low maintenance solid rental. (1 bed 1 bath will rent for $450.00)We can't sell it as we've invested about $50k worth of labor into it. lol.But when we bought it, it sure seemed like a great deal...

Look around and you will see the average joe is NOT getting six pack;meanwhile six pack book writers, gyms ,pod-casters,personal trainers, supplement sellers, workout equipment sellers,nutritionist,plastic surgeons etc are getting rich. 

Further separation with the double drywall (you can actually run one of the layers as sound insulating drywall if you like) and the green glue should fix up most everything except noise transfer through things like copper plumbing (water hammer) plastic plumbing drains, or hallway recirculating ductwork.It’s a wood framed building, probably built to minimum code at the time.