I'll give a little different take....in my experience once you have a legal lease that you're happy with you may never encounter another legal question ever.The tax issues important in terms of frequency because you'll face them every year and taxes are likely your #1 expense beside mortgage interest.The 2 main keys to being successful are that if something breaks, you fix it for the tenant and the tenant has to pay the rent on time. 

Just reallllly make sure the property cash flows enough to account for those first year surprises that a lot of investors encounter when they take over a property and you should be pretty safe. 

There's no such requirement at the federal level, which is where you'd normally encounter excise taxes.As with any business, you should identify what applicable state and local licenses you'll need to run everything above board considering the facts and circumstances of the business.

What risks and challenges did you encounter?

I went into Word and translated the estoppel agreement available from BP, and after some formatting I had a Spanish.Has anyone encountered this before and what else can I do to guarantee a smooth transfer?

One of the upstairs bedrooms had this sticker on the wall.In the basement and the garage it appears that they sprayed white paint of some sort on all the surfaces. 

Not sure how you structured the loan and if it is an owner occupied loan but if not i'd talk to a few different banks and title companies and try to find someone that has encountered this issue.

As you go through the first project you will encounter things you didn't know to ask about.

Plumber is very expensive, and if they encounter/expose to any pipe that is not to code, they can make it very expensive.

Some of the big concerns that you'll have buying a house without access is the foundation, possible mold issues, or just a bad layout.I'd never buy a house unseen if I didn't have a crew ready and experienced to deal with whatever we might encounter.