I'm thinking that if I purchase the property, I can offer him cash for keys so I can turn it over to a new tenant; however, given the eviction moratorium and uncertainty about how long it will last, what can I do if he decides that he would rather live rent free than take the cash to leave? 

We have a housing shortage due to local fires and an influx of Bay Area transplants, which is making deals difficult to come by.

The unit I am planning to live rents out at $2500 ( So I will be saving up on the rent I would pay , if I lived in one unit).

So it may not be financially accessible for many locals, but it certainly is feasible for transplants with flexible jobs.

So essentially people can live rent free without the obligation of having to pay it back?

However 20 years from now I’ll still be glad I didn’t jump out of a airplane without a parachute, go swimming in a pool of piranhas, or eat liver flavored ice cream

I believe that PMs are a necessary evil if you live really far away. 

I bought that property as my primary residence out of College and had 2 friends who paid me rent, allowing me to live rent free for about 2-3 years.

My thinking when I realized that $100 a door doesn't seem like much, which it really isn't, im still getting paid to live rent free in a property that other people are paying for, while I learn first hand how to do all this... stuff.   

There is a reason so many transplants, especially from the east and west coasts, are coming to Austin; they can buy more house for their money than what they could in the cities they are leaving behind.”Valuable insights indeed.