If she hadn't been such a PITA I would have given her the stove, but she's the kind that would have taken the stove (it still worked but all the wiring was severely dry-rotted and exposed wires were everywhere), put it in her house, had a fire, then asked me to cover the damage.

The two walls that I had issues with under the dry wall are brick so I'm thinking of exposing the brick since that's in style, cleaning the brick, patching up the missing mortar and painting it with a water proof white paint.

Are they doing everything they can to expose properties to the widest possible market?

Here are just a few examples: missing handrails, no gutters or broken gutters, exposed subfloor, exposed wiring, insufficient heating elements, dry rot, mold, water damage, rotting or leaking window sills and trim, appliances that don't work, deck and fence in disrepair, wet basements, peeling paint, roof over 20 years old could get called out.Hope this helps and best of luck to you!

@Justin Williams - Welcome to BiggerPockets and congrats on preparing yourself to jump into the Chicago real estate space.I was totally in the same boat as you when I found real estate and realized this whole different world that not all of our exposed to until we find it. 

Our plan is:-Increase social media posts about what we're doing (operations and acquisitions) on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube-Go to real estate meetups (not sure about which ones) and just expose people to what we're doing/get them following our social media Anything else anyone would recommend? 

Propane gas is the other option and in this region, that is more costly than in other parts, like NY where we have natural gas.

Has anyone ever done a structure like that or any other ideas how to not be exposed to capital gain taxation on the sale of his portfolio?

On another note, you do realize any house left unattended for lengthy periods will expose you to a multitude of problems, for example:Mold, rodents, insect infestation is almost certainCarpetbaggers, homeless, and or drug addicts may become a problem that could ultimately be your responsibilityWhat is the city ordinance?

Otherwise you as the landlord are exposed to liabilities you do not want.Cheers,Buddy