If he feels he still has rights to the rental and the deposit, then that also means he has responsibilities for the damage and is subject to charges.

The HOA can decide to do a special project or make a short 3 story elevator more hurricane proof ($800000) or have issues after a hurricane and then you are definitely not ahead of the game.Please connect with me and I can maybe point you in a better direction.

Find an area to focus on, research it for 6 months, then score a deal.

Since then, I've chosen the Couer d'Alene/Post Falls area and have already started working with an agent.

Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.2.

Lumber and plywood went up to the sky and then came back down but not down to previous levels everything else rose and stuck.

However, many states now require some version of a license to wholesale, so I'd identify a market first and then dig into their specific wholesaler requirements. 

Then things went south...I decided to gut the rest of the basement since it got water damaged from the foundation issue.

Live in the multi-family for a year, then move back into your own home and rent out the unit.If if not ideal, it's worth the hassle. 

Pay the bill yourself, then reimburse yourself by charging the tenants based on a formula.