I try to provide the raw truth.

I try to make it as easy as possible on them so that they will leave without a fight. 

I'm trying to see how viable it is for him to buy a property there. 

The owner has taken it off market and I'm just trying to explore my options of selling it off market for a deeply discounted price.  

Can try to reposition to Class B, but neighborhood may impede these efforts.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, but 15-20% should be used to also cover tenant nonpayment, eviction costs & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores of 560-620 (approaching 22% probability of default), many blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 2 years.

Any advice for someone trying to buy their first duplex and house hack? 

If they fail to pay, then you can choose to try eviction or just hold the charges until the end of their lease and collect it from their deposit.

Trump doesn't control them, but he's going to try everything he can to bring mortgage rates down.

Document, document that you’ve tried to fix the problem if you can’t get the technician in tomorrow.  

I would assume your Property Manager was trying to protect the property from any damage or lapse in utility services so I not think they were at fault here.