The cost is prohibitive to make them fully compliant by adding ceiling height, windows, doors, electrical upgrades, plumbing upgrades, etc, but the city is also aware that it can't lose all of these truly affordable housing units. 

if you buy a property at market price in a good neighborhood - you will break even or lose money.and in general, if you're serious about this, i'd recommend going to your chosen market in person, probably multiple times, to set up your team. 

@Amanda BahilThis is one of the rare times I'm going to disagree with @JD Martin.I think splitting the difference and losing a month's rent with this boondoggle, if you can ascertain that it is really what the tenant says it is (which does sound doubtful), is the way to go.You've got to work the landlord-tenant relationship.

If I rent it, it won't cash flow more than 2%, which is sort of ok as my goals is creating a portfolio of additional income for retirement (12 years from now)  If I sell it I will likley lose a little money ($5-$10k) I Used a VA loan to purchase zero down and will be living in it for 24 months while I do the rehab.purchase price $330K, rehab $15k, Estimated ARV is $370k.  

Either the homeowner loses $300k in equity or pays $120k to pay off a $500 lien. 

I've seen it swing hundreds of dollars per month and folks thought they were getting a cash flow deal but in reality they're losing money on it every month.Anyway, happy to shoot you a DM with more info/links/etc.

Here is an article that appeared in the Worcester Chamber Exchange.
I've been hammering away at this issue for years on my BiggerPockets blog.
Let's not belabor the point, but Worcester's commercial tax rate is dir...

However, we are worried about losing our "investment" and such a low interest rate.We purchased a Trendmaker home west of Houston in Katy, in 2020 with 10% down at 3.3% interest for $319,000.  

Despite these challenges, we didn't lose money.

With a 1-BR condo, the appreciation lags well behind SFH's, but over the long term there's no way it will lose value -- it's near hotels, a major bar/restaurant destination, good schools, and a station that serves the city's best Metro line.