It's easy - screw with a tenant's security deposit.Your buddy needs to send a demand letter stating what the problem is and what he wants as a solution and give the landlord 30 days to make it right. 

wow our east coast and mid west BP buddies must be  aghast 200.00 a sq ft for an old 2 and 1.... 

Some of my buddies at Ft.Hood tried doing this and was given quite a bit of push back.

Hey folks I found a great macro-economic analysis from a consortium that a buddy of mine participates.Check out this site. 

@Merritt SteinbachOh buddy it ridiculous..

Cheers,Buddy

My buddy who got the turbo did the same thing and loved it.   

I'd hand my buddy the 300-400k cash call our attorneys over to have drinks and loan him the money at 1% less than the lowest current loans they have.With the interest i will build cabins with a view to rent/sell, help my other friend get his fantastic new business venture up and profiting.Any spare time and money I have will be spent doing deals and working on pet projects. 

With little down using an fha mortgage, you could get a duplex/triplex and rent to your college buddies.

@Andrew Cornstubble You're competent, buddy.