I'm in your area. Do you have a real estate agent and access to the MLS yet? I'm not, just curious. A lot of those homes you can find online are already gone. Full swing property season has been building.
I wouldn't buy on Cedar Ave for my own residence. Tempting due to price, but not unless they improve it like Lyndale. (when it is decided poor people can have a nice street like richer people on Lyndale, but I digress).
Always make sure there is room to put snow once it's removed. I dislike long driveways that are next to houses with the garage in back. You could get a snowblower, but to me a snowblower is just another engine to maintain and break.
I always like houses in Mpls with alley access and at least a parking pad for reasons above. And especially with snow emergencies, off-street parking is a huge bonus.
Houses in some areas of Mpls are very tempting in price, but there isn't always a great exit strategy. I could be wrong as I don't know NOMI or Harrison well, and it's certainly better than it was a few years back. I like this guys blog, he has done work in NOMI, although a lot of his older entries are gone since he updated his site:
http://www.investmentpropertyanswers.com/ If some of those homes are listed at 80k, what needs to be fixed, and what are the other reasons why such a beautiful home hasn't been snatched up already, especially that last one- the Four Square with the door to nowhere?
Make sure you check out the Mpls crime maps for your area to make sure of your comfort level:
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/statistics/crime-statistics_codefor_indexCrime is leaps and bounds better than it was, but something to be aware of.
If you're thinking to rent to downtown professionals, I would absolutely be thinking South Minneapolis walking distance to the Light Rail and bus lines. Also easy access to the airport. Also opens you up to Augsburg, MetroState, MCTC and UM students etc.
A personal note- I hate older houses that have had their old original windows ripped out for new cheap "superior" vinyl windows. Older windows can always be fixed (normally very easy fixes) are made of far superior wood etc. etc. When they are refurbished with a quality storm window, they are as effective as a replacement window and will last longer. There is a lot of info about this online, see John Leeke.
Lastly, I think $500 a month for a roommate situation in Mpls is a bit high, but it
seems like it's what the market will bear. As long as that includes all utilities it might be reasonable, but I'd think more like $400-450 would be reasonable to me. Vacancy rates (4.7% 4th quarter
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/cped/resources/reports/cped_trends_reports_home) are low now even with the apartment building be done around the city and Manhattan style rents they are charging. Although it seems Millennials are more averse to the idea of buying a house and renting instead, I'm waiting for that bubble to pop.