I'm anxious about making any financial mistakes that will cause me to be in hot water with the government since I am not sure how to report income from an investment property. 

Therefore the "notice" was no valid as there was no written proof that he knew about the sale before it was sold by the government for taxes. 

She said that she always wanted to do a presentation - "how to buy your house with government money."

How is the purchase price determined (ie is that governed by the IRS?)?

I forgot to mention, I suggest you confirm with the responsible government body (town, city or county) that the encroachment and proposed easement do not and would not violate zoning restrictions, i.e. setbacks or utility easements.

If you make false statements over the computer or telephone about your experience or the performance of your past investments and it induces someone to send you money that is what the government calls "wire fraud."

If we can save you 30k on your taxes via implementing these strategies, that is a 15x return on your 2k cost, since you are now not paying that to the government.

I also have a very very very small chance of getting let go from my job since it is regulatory work for the state government.

The shower curtain can also accumulate a lot of body grease!

I think they are rent capped by the government (I wonder when that runs out), so raising the rents is probably not an option, and having experience in this niche with all of it's "Red Tape" and paperwork would be helpful.