On the other hand, if you are in an area where people come in and just move in, there might be some upside, but I think it will be minimal.  

I haven't personally tried to the last two so there are probably plenty of bad examples not to try them, but they should at least minimize initial investment costs if done right.

We have avoided debt our whole lives, which can be a good thing in minimizing financial risk. 

We felt this method minimized the potential for income disruption while still getting us closer to market rents for the longer term tenants.  

I get MINIMAL insurance. 

There is a promissory note, and a Deed of Trust for the transaction, and if you look up the property in county tax records, she is the owner and his name isn't reflected anywhere.She owes a minimal amount on this home, and if a tornado or fire takes it down, she understands she is not covered, and theory still owes him for the balance, even though he also understands he'll never see that money.What would you do? 

All in all i spent less than 6 grand in repairs and turned my 235k house into 280k in 2.5 years with minimal money and without the intent of flipping.  

What are the best ways to minimize rent loss while accomplish my goal of updating all units by the end of the year?

I know these things can happen, and I should be prepared for things to go wrong on occasion, but I am not willing to let the horror stories keep me from buying my first property, especially if I have systems in place to hopefully minimize the risk of putting these types of tenants in my properties. 

Minimizing the amount he walks away with( its a cheap deal to begin with)Im confused about the title insurance/judgment clearing process.