The reports are generic and lack substance. 

No harm in trying to make more money as long as you have a plan to go back to and have a solid time line for success.

People make money selling a dirty substance mixed with I don't know what, cooked by I don't know who, sold on a street corner illegally, and can get the person killed who is selling it and kill the person who uses it. 

Detroit has been on the rebound for a few years already and the introduction of this substance will bring in more businesses, attractive for millennial growth, and cause media to take away the "bankrupt city" annotation Detroit has and spin the new name for Detroit of this like "land of opportunity for businesses and millennials."

If the number, cash flow look good, no harm to make offers.

He's no more likely to be doing anything illegal out of your unit than any other tenant.As for the safety comparison..... and neighbors...... and "bad people" it attracts...... you can say the exact same thing about alcohol...tobacco......and many other vices our tenants may have.My one emphasis would be the no smoking policy....not because of the substance but because of the damage to the unit from smoke, flame, ash and odorAnd ANY proposed new tenant has to pass the screening....NO EXCEPTIONS..... so if the dad knows that may be an issue down the line, it needs to be addressed now as a problem.

But, this isn't worth putting others in harms way.

I've heard of people getting sued for damages if their is financial harm (i.e they are trying to move out of their house and buy a new one, but now can't due to backing out of the sale), but nothing to the extent of backstopping what my offer was vs what they ultimately sell it for?

The license requirement in most states is meant to protect consumers/investors from unscrupulous property managers and give harmed parties an avenue for justice.

An IRA generally uses the SSN of the IRA account holder as its tax ID.There is no harm from an IRA/IRS perspective of using just your name and SSN for this purpose.