Normally when they are headed to foreclosure they secure the property to preserve the value and keep it from being vandalized etc. 

He doesn't want encapsulation, from what I understand OG accelerates the normal outgassing of organic compounds.

Just my two cents.As everyone else has stated here, always go through the normal due diligence you would when buying any property regardless of who the seller is. 

If its something major like termites then of course it should be your responsibility but normal every day pests is theirs to address. 

Things that any normal person could fix.

I normally find properties close to the 1% once stabalized.More or less, I recommend targeting tertiary markets that are 45 min to an hour outside of Boston with a large concentration of multifamily. 

how do you landlords normally send lease non-renewals to your tenants?

Which is not true and riskier to only gamble on appreciation I think.

Overall the house hacking achieves effectively living for break even or less than rent and getting you into a market you normally couldn't afford the downpayment on.

I've lost money on deals that I took a gamble - Detroit homes with more taxes owed than the value of the property, and I've made money.What else can I tell you?