I hired a guy that charge me $450 to cut up and haul away.

I would like to just cut off the fire damaged part and connect the rest to my home.

There are also many cash buyers who will try to use an inspection period to drop the price, so make sure if they do ask for inspection contingency, it's a very short period, so they're not wasting your time. 

The city contacted me yesterday saying they had previous conversations with the owner and cutting 5ft into my yard to add a hiking/trail path.

That I’m not wasting my time looking into the possibilities that exist.Long story short, I’ve inherited part ownership in a rental property passed down from my grandparents.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies that spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

He was unpleasantly surprised with the management/collection/vacancy/repairs challenges there were on them, which drastically cut down his returns, raised his stress level, etc, and he had a long difficult time finding an avenue to exit owning them.

Did you attempt it for a time but find it not worth the effort vs. other cost-cutting strategies? 

Is there any options other than cutting my losses?

Or did they just have the funds in the bank to cut a check?