She also owes me Sept rent but chose to move out early which thankfully she got out as usually that can be a huge battle.   

My son is battling addiction which is where I discovered what a sober living home is.

Demanded a full refund for a smell (which cannot be photographed). 

Additionally, sometimes there are smells left behind that need to be remediated. 

Likely battle scared and forever changed - but you WILL get through it.

We are concerned that the smoking/smell will turn off prospects as well as the extra cost of cleaning up areas after smokers move out.The building is in Illinois. 

I am worried I will do all of that and it will still smell in there.

The reason for the delay is because I initially thought I'd invest in low cost areas of California like Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Sacramento, etc (due to being somewhat within driving distance of the SF Bay Area) but I held back because California's landlord laws made me very concerned.I didn't want to end up in drawn out court battles with a renter just squatting at a place I purchased with my cash. 

Big enough to have some staff and some marketing reach, local name recognition, battle tested, etc.4.

You can argue that you can get an education somewhere else, but without a strong community, you will face an uphill battle in your multifamily journey.