But that unfortunately translates into high prices /  low cap rates. 

The part of the lease that pertains to this states: "The Tenant(s) agrees to keep premises in good, clean condition, - to make NO alterations, including painting; to replace glass broken or cracked as a result of Tenant’s neglect or careless use of the premises, to repay the Landlord the cost of repairs made necessary by the neglect or careless use of the premises by theTenant(s), and to surrender the premises at the termination hereof in like condition as when taken, reasonable wear by the elements and ordinary wear and tear excepted."

The importance of those numbers, in a particular market, can be identified based on what those living there are willing to pay to live there...which, for a REI translates to Profit and/or Cash flow...the numbers with "$" in front of them.

I work primarily with non-investor sellers and I can't think of one who hasn't been willing to go through some inconvenience for a higher sales price.The extra $10K  (or $5K, or $50K) that the seller gets if the price escalates often translates to a big percentage of their net, i.e. if the house sells for $400K instead of $375K - so just under 7% higher - and the seller pays $250K in mortgage payoff and selling expense, the seller actually walks away with 20% more cash.To be clear, I don't recommend toying with buyers and alienating a good offer needlessly by dragging things out - some times that first offer is the best one, or it may come in significantly higher than list price.

From my comps it looks like the home will sell in tip top shape for about 40-48k and rent for $700/mo She is very close to foreclosure (tax delinquency since 2016) and said “I’ll be happy if I get 10k” which to me probably translates to “I’ll be happy if I just get the tax payoff and save my name from foreclosure”.

I personally feel better knowing that there's no alteration to the income. 

What a terrible story - we are definitely in a human business where stakes (people’s shelter) are deeply ingrained in ours and our tenants’ basic human need.I have been in education for years and I wonder how translatable the active shooter training we do is relevant to office spaces.

But I view this as a business, and as such there are many other benchmarks that I use to translate the level of success.

She had no other record of problems in the past five years"I could be wrong, but the way i translate this is...You have to wait 5 years....Meaning if the person had an eviction in the past 5 years it will still show up ....in which case, no I am NOT renting to you anyway. 

We did most of the work ourselves, which translated to lots of late nights while kids were sleeping, but after a while you adjust to the new normal.