For example, below is a photo of a boarded-up fire-damaged property in poor condition.The popular site for a rental estimates I checked predicted the rent as $2,199/Mo.

They will probably not cover redoing the poor workmanship but there may be some coverage for the ensuing damage (garage light repair).  

It also appears that there's a STRONG correlation between tax sales and distressed property (plus, arguably, worthless property) - ie it's showing on Zillow it's 400k but for the last 5 years it's been a meth lab with fire damage, or whatever.

I've been reading on the idea where no deposit has to be collected and it insures rent and damages.

I still own a few in parks, so I think it could damage the relationship with the manager, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

An updated roof mitigates potential water damage in the future.

I'm still collecting rent from the tenant, who should also be responsible for any damage as well, right? 

By nothing I mean no damage to the unit, rent on time, and good communication. 

yes can definitely replace just the bathtub but i would do the surround as well . since its leaking would want to see what the condition is below . very important as water damage can produce mold 

You can't count on believing that the family member will not produce a handwritten lease (real or not), or other paperwork & tactics, to throw a big old wrench in your initial/expected timeline.You CAN expect that if they see you as the big old rich/developer/bad guy enemy, they will do as much damage as they can, and drag their feet as long as possible.See if you can feel out what the relative actually wants/ needs, connect/come prepared with info on resources for local "housing help" options, etc (perhaps), and figure out what you can do to solve the problem (cash for keys with an incentive for quicker move out timeframe?