Termination of a month-to-month tenancy is typically controlled by state statute.

Susan your cardinal points are off a little  39209 is WEST Jackson and your correct that is the worst part of town. 

When a deal falls through, especially for reasons beyond the seller’s control, it can really impact the MLS record and even stigmatize the listing.

He left town.

I wanted to know what are some good neighborhoods on the outskirts of town. 

The property is in I would say a C+/B- part of town. 

Snake oil salesman, like father of the founder of Rockefeller dynasty who literally sold snake oil and ran from town to town, would be someone like Kiyosaki who charges $30K for courses to teach things about RE that one could learn on this forum for free.

I would think very carefully about ceding control over the investment given you are all inexperienced.

The rest is luck: did it rain that weekend and did we have the right buyers walk through the door, to push the winning offer just the last bit.. you can't control that. 

.** Small towns may rely too much on a single business or market segment.