Whether you own your own business or are kicking butt at work or are working to break off and do your own thing, you NEED to take time out to recharge and prevent burnout syndrome.

I have been going through the podcasts in the site just trying to learn the most that I can before that first deal to prevent costly mistakes.

Keep the standard of cleanliness, pocket the extra rental income for the renovations that will come at some point, and prevent the unit from further degradation.

I'm not aware of anything in NJ that prevents buyers and sellers from talking to each other.

Yes, you can exercise the option but that also brings up my original point on options, to many other potential issues can prevent you from acquiring title e.g. seller bankruptcy, liens, additional borrowings, etc., and yes you have legal recourse to mitigate these issues but that doesn't necessarily mean the financial means will be available to cure whatever the issues are that may arise.My suggestion would be to seriously consider an acquisition of this magnitude where you acquire fee simple title.

If that's the case a good contractor can replace moldy materials, treat the rest, and apply mold preventative coverings/sealants to the treated area.  

If you are posting many ads (sometimes this happens to me after just 4-6) at the same time from the same IP address CL will quickly flag ads to prevent people from spamming their site with ads.

Our privacy laws prevent the use of the fancy software you Americans can take advantage of.

In accordance with the laws of your jurisdiction, I would have him served with a No Trespassing letter now to prevent any future unfriendly visits.  

The listing agent is right in not entertaining your offer, as he'd simply be tying up the owner's property for60-90 days, preventing him from selling it to a real buyer, getting that much closer to an auction.