I would have been bleeding money in the form of rent payments as I wait for that moment which may never come. 

You also have to decide if you want to take that throughout the unit into the kitchen- Laminates don't deal with water well, and can swell if water gets into the cracks and grooves.

It's a swell location and a great rental. 

I realize that might be a bleeding heart fantasy and recipe for financial ruin, but I'm a big ideas and problem-solving kind of person.So: suggestions for setting up a property management process with this rental population in mind?

Whenever you're buying a junior lien, you're taking title subject to senior lien(s). Well

If you heat lead paint over 1100 degrees with a heat gun, the vapors can cause your brain to swell.

If you are bleeding that much cash every month (and I think you are bleeding more than you think because you didn't include ANY maintenance reserves for items such as A/C, roof, etc.), you are setting up for a future problem.  

Also, be prepared to be cut up on your hands, when you are breaking the tile it tends to get really sharp when you don't realize it and you'll be bleeding before you know it.But all in all, great looking flooring.

I can give myself a functioning salary without the temptation of bleeding the account dry because of the double taxation.

Anyhow, we had a tarp and blanket pinned up over the back door, so it was bleeding heat like crazy - but we had baseboard heaters in every room cranked on high as well as space heaters running 24/7.