This will give every chance of a stable rental market as well as property appreciation.

I like REO's because chances are the bank already has an idea of the repair costs as they sent an inspector out to the property before listing it.

You will have better chances from June-Sept to make the best deal on your property based on what I have seen in the market as a Realtor. 

If I would have held them for another 10 years I would have pocketed about $300k between the 2.I had a chance to sell them early on with a net loss of $100k but decided not to.

Shoot me a dm whenever you get the chance I have some good advice and some offers for you.

Competition for homes will increase, giving sellers the chance to increase their prices.

Chances are you won't get anything even if you go to small claims court and win. 

Chances are you don't want to buy a building that had PERC spills and EPA just chomping at the bit to hit the new owner with environmental cleanup costs, that might be way more than the building is worth. 

familiarity with the market, value-add, chance to make something out of nothing.

The chances of them actually paying you the 15k without a major fight is slim.