Moisture just cannot get down to the sub floor. 

You will have to take additional steps for moisture mitigation, egress, etc. which will drive up your costs even more.I would go talk to the city and a local architect/engineer/GC and see if you can get a better idea of how much would be involved with something like this.

., @Bruce Woodruff, and especially @Jill F..The only three things I'd like to emphasize are:(1) Linda's understanding that you have to know what kind of rental you're aiming for before you start redesigning a kitchen and planning on shelling out the big bucks.(2) Jill's rock-solid description of the process of getting this done.(3) As Scott said, if this is a C-class apartment, light that kitchen up like a surgery, and understand that less is probably going to be more here before you open up your wallet.Only one thing I'd like to expand on:The cheapest cabinets are made out of particle board, it's heavy, it warps and swells when exposed to moisture very easily, but it's cheap.

No one thought about the damage the moisture in the place would have done.

Around a month ago our tenants started complaining about it being hot inside the home with condensation and potential moisture problems.

Ok members - be gentle...am new at this and I am learning everything I can WAY before I consider a purchase.  

A little bit of patience, and some gentle pressure continuously applied went a long way on this one.

My partner (the bad cop :grin:) is insisting that we get FMR but I have convinced him to be gentle in this matter, so here's our plan to get the FMR for our apartments.Every other month, we will be raising the rents 10% until we get to the FMR rate.We will begin this policy in 30 days of this letter.Serve the normal 30-day notice of change in terms and attach a personal letter like the above. 

Is there a simple way I can cover the chimney up so rain/moisture doesn't get in but also allow proper ventilation?

If it's moisture creeping in from the ground, consider adding a dehumidifier or figuring out how to seal the basement.