I'm a retired builder and my son is currently house shopping in an area a few hours away. He started his search by sending me listings, and detailed photo albums of several homes that are very similar to what you own. We would then spent time reaching the same conclusion. The process went like this.
Yes, it's cheap, maybe even a bargain. Yes it needs a ton of work. Unfortunately, the work falls into two categories. A lot of the work you will potentially be doing, roofing, soffits, plumbing/electrical upgrades, septic, grading, driveway, insulation, heating etc.. fall into the "functional adequacy" category. Since appraisers, inspectors, and buyers expects to see these systems in functionally adequate condition, they will deduct for issues that need to be addressed, but not pay extra since it has a functional roof, septic system etc.. So you spend $30K to make the place functional and another $20K to paint, renovate the kitchen and bath, and put all new floor coverings in the place, assuming a lot of DIY labor and low cost finishes.
That leads to a few questions. Are you qualified, experienced, and "tooled up" to tackle a whole range of major projects. Are you willing to sacrifice the majority of your free time and put at least 25-30 hours a week into the project for months (years) on end, until the whole place is renovated. Does any of this pencil out.? If you end up spending $50K and put 1000 hours of your time in, will you easily get your money back since the market is strong enough to make it worth your effort, or will you end up with a house that's worth $30K more than you paid, and you lose $30-40K after closing costs, essentially handing all your hard work to the next owner?
My son caught on pretty quick, and decided that he wanted to avoid the whole fixer up end of the market.
Your path can be pretty clear here, just gather all the information first.
!. What is a the current market value of the place without repairs and upgrades? Drag a few agents through the place and get a couple of opinions.
2. Since disclosure and inspection will reveal issues (roof, well, etc...) what are the realtors take on this info. Is the house even marketable, or will you be forced to correct, or discount for these problems.
3. What are the costs involved with restoring the place to functional adequacy. Well, roof, soffits, etc.... Get bids on the work.
4. what are the cost of renovations to make the place the kind of home you want to stay in, new bath, flooring , paint, kitchen etc....
5. what is you realistic skill level and desire to tackle any of this work, will you realistically put the time in to take each project through to completion.
Now run all the possible scenarios and see what makes sense to you. Personally, I would bail on the commute, bail on a house that needs years of constant DIY and $30-60K or more of investment, and find a way to make some other living arrangement work, a hell of a lot closer to my job, but that's just me. Good luck.