In an ideal world, you should play nice.

Now, if in your walkthrough and lease review you find material lease violations that could result in eviction, then that would be another option, but again, that is (I am guessing) unlikely and still risky, since there is a cure period associated with evictions.Not sure if this exists, but maybe get a private lender (ideally family member or friend) to lend you on a purchase loan for 10 months, then refi into a different private or hard money lender once tenant is out?

I have a property ideal for conversion into a triplex with minimal renovation required.

And now she wants to drop the entire thing for the next year or two or more.I've wanted to own a rental since I was a teenage, our home has had all the major repairs and upgrades, it's move-in ready at this point.The ideal situation for me is to buy a second home in the next few months, @ ~7%, get into our home before summer, interest rates drop over the next year or 2, house appreciates, we make out like bandits in equity and then if it makes sense we refinance to a lower interest rate.

I have two condos now, and looking to invest about 250k in a new property. ideally, i like the steady stream of renting vs short term rentals. 

Nevada, with cities like Las Vegas and Reno, offers a tourism-driven economy, ideal for vacation rentals, but be sure to research regulations on short-term rentals.

Do you have any recommendations or insights on where would be an ideal place to start?

I deal directly with the decision maker.

I deal ONLY with commercial property.  

However, it is ideal for the high-income earners (and thus high tax liability).