We declined to do so because since she called the contract illegal and will not do her part in keeping the place habitable (I know we were there for 1.3 yrs) by repair the electrical and we're not going thru another hot summer b/c we can't install the HVAC unit w/o the electrical being done. but now she's selling the house but no one is interested for her asking price because her mortgage is about $40k more that what the house is actually worth and she bought the house as a rental property knowing this...actually she owns about 4 houses that she is trying to get rid of b/c she realized that she got in over her head and has no $$$ to repair any of her property...I bear no ill will against her b/c she has helped us out a lot, but I feel that we should get our$1500 back because she made the contract null and void b/c she refused to do her part in fixing the electricalany help?

Besides her being your friend and she telling you she made 4x the monthly rent...did you actually do a screening and verified all this?

And most garages are not built as living space.It starts with the slab - 1) Different PSI concrete, 2) Wrong steel, 3) No (or wrong) vapor barrier 4) No hold-downs, 5) No shear walls....and it goes on from there.

For example, my why is my kids ... my wife and I decided that the best thing for them was to have her be a stay at home mom and home school them.

If your property manager has a Broker above him/her, be sure to address it to the Broker.

She had a space heater, electric blanket, and heating pad all in her bed.

Inventory is very low and properties vaporize! 

With her age she is wanting to sell the property and invest in my investment model of her being a passive investor and not be involved in the day to day grind.

Travelers Insurance told my mother that they are dropping her policy in 2016 due to her being a liability.  

You'll want to have sub-slab sampling of the soil gas to see if there is a potential for vapor intrusion as well as groundwater.