They can and will fine you heavily and order you to remove it completely if you don't go to them first and ask for an inspection and do what they want to make it legal and permitted.Don't try to "get away with it".Be a businessman and fix the problem the right way.

I also understand accounting and legality may play a role.

(Due to some financial issues with him in the past, I'm not willing to cosign for him)  Would a rental agreement with the roommates suffice? 

Obviously this may vary by market but we would not accept partial payments as it does make things more challenging legally if you need to evict them.

On higher value we are willing to stretch if need be as there’s more room to cover unknown issues.

I’ve worked for some group home providers where they employ a maintenance worker who handles some of these issues (usually if the have multiple homes in a specific geographic location) and I’ve worked for homes where the handiest employee fixes things and that option doesn’t always have the best outcomes.

Additionally, we addressed plumbing and electrical issues to make the property fully rental-compliant.

Easy way to just be done with any mold issues on the walls.Our managers brother used to put up metal roofs and buildings. 

The biggest challenge was addressing unforeseen structural issues, which ate into the budget.

The biggest challenge was addressing unforeseen structural issues, which ate into the budget.