Can anyone give me any advice for getting started with his first property in Kansas City?

Forget the large REITS.  

Remember a rehab on TV takes 60 minutes but even with a team, minutes turn into months and your profit can go out the window in no time. 

The latter includes persons on Medicare or Medicaid (I forget which is which) - and they even sometimes pay landlord bonuses.

All equity.I forget the exact amounts, but I think on the equity,  I (we, really, because it was my wife and me) put in 50% of the equity and had an investor that was a close friend put in the other half.  

Funeral Home.Would make an offer for $700,000 with a 3 day window.  3 value add plays:a. 

Cost: What is a realistic cost-per-unit for getting a distressed C-class property up to the City's current point-of-sale/Certificate of Occupancy standards?

They will forget years of good treatment in a minute. 

Sounds logical, however they forget that there are many players out there that do not play fair... 

After that don't forget cost for property management, capex savings (for major repairs), and maintenance savings (for small repairs).