First thing first, you will have to determine if the price is reasonable to FLIP or try to do an Air bnb model for high cash flow.

I am posting to introduce myself, thank the community for all the value provided and leave a bit of insight into what drives me and what I am trying to learn.So first, I am from Bel Air Maryland.

That basement unit is for air bnb

http://asm-air.com/airconditioning/top-10-air-conditioner-brands/ 

In other words, I do not think adding a co-signer really prevents a bad tenant from proving to be just that...

My advice for newbies is always to do as much research as you can (and @Casey Miles made a GREAT point about being aggressively patient) but to take the time to ask yourself (and your family) and few important questions to help weed out options and prevent analysis paralysis.

Move on, keep your friends, never rent to family/friends again, and fix the lease agreement for the next one.For the upstairs/downstairs heat differential, that is often easily remedied by turning the central air fan on full time or if it has a circ option, use that.  

You don't want obstructions, but the trap will prevent any nasty sewer smells from coming up the sink.

I will definitely keep what you said in mind when I'm looking since I know that it's better to be paying my rent into equity rather than thin air.

I am a big fan of preventive measures, but is this something I should really jump on right away?