My point in asking is how do I avoid this mistake in the first place going forward. 

@Doug Perez The 2 cities are really doing what they can to help this.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I would NOT advise a client to ever purchase a tenant occupied property with uncooperative tenants unless they are very experienced investors or the property purchase price comes at a discount that reflects this fairly major issue they are conveying to you with the sale.How long has this place been on the market?

Any concerns with doing this rather than a straightforward sale and having them handle trust steps after the sale and without our participation?

Purchase price: $220,000 We are in the middle of a flip of this duplex.

Quote from @Jorge Matamoros: Quote from @Drew Sygit: @Jorge Matamoros this is NOT an easy strategy to pursue!

I assumed this would be the case because the rest of what California has to offer kind of sucks.

Is this even a thing? 

It's the cleanest and simplest way to do this.