That type of uninsightful functionality is precisely what I was concerned about as they try to force-fit every rental and landlord into a generic Apartments.com mold.

That is accomplished precisely because we do quality renovations on the front end and react quickly to tenants needs AND follow-up to make sure they are satisfied.  

Call me old fashioned but the key to wholesaling is finding properties that are off market, for the precise reason of equity, and potential profits.The second you deal with on market, you deal with agent fees, and commisisons, fierce competition, and usually lack of motivation with sellers.Are there exceptions?

Thank you Joe, this is precisely the type of advice I am looking for. 

If the buyer was aware of precisely what he was buying...and it sounds like he was....I don't really see the beef.

Many here use the "50% Rule," which basically says that over a large number units in diverse locations and over a long period of time (20+ years), expenses + vacancy (rent loss) + capital costs will tend to be in the 50% range.This DOESN'T mean:- Any one property will follow this rule- Any particular area will follow this rule- Any short period of time will be defined by this rule- Etc...Many of us use this rule as a first-pass analysis tool -- if using 50% indicates a good deal, we'll dig in further to try to find more accurate/precise numbers.

That's precisely why it takes some money/credit of your own to own rental properties, regardless of what gurus say.

In the absence of lots of inventory available on the MLS with tenants in place, private equity and to a greater degree publicly traded REITs will routinely pay a price based on the cap rate of a portfolio of rentals (including SFR and duplexes), and this is precisely how these properties are valued.

I do think I'd have an independent home inspection done for precisely the reasons you suggest.

Most of us who got into real estate did so for this precise reason .