For your initial missive, I would recommend sending the city a written request specifically describing the records that you seek, and specifying—as you did in your email below—that names and other personal identifiers can be redacted.

I spoke with the tenant and they had spent the money between initiating the payment and it clearing. 

Initially they said they are happy to leave their things in case I want to turn my place into an Airbnb.

@Yoav Gilad, circling back to my initial questions, with that in mind, do you know of any sites or resources where you can source individuals who have outstanding medical bills or expenses? 

You must find people you want to work with and initiate the conversation from your end.

V.G,This was my initial reason for being too conservative.

The one I mentioned in the original post was one we never even went and visited because the initial approach to the property scared me.

Unfortunately, upon doing some initial research (including on biggerpockets and reading Brandon's book on real estate investing), its not always feasible to invest where we reside - do you alternatives in mind?

While initially enthusiastic about the potential of the property, upon inspection, I found myself overwhelmed by the extent of work required for its rehabilitation.As a beginner in this field, I must admit that I feel ill-equipped to accurately assess the necessary renovations and calculate the total cost of rehabilitation.

my initial inclination is in line with both of yours: it's a slightly upscale community, property + type of traveler, so i would prefer a focus on making it great vs making it, in essence, 'cheap' per head.+ yes, that was also my initial reservation: a house that is filled with a bunch of beds is not a very interesting space.thank you for sharing that this isn't necessarily a mistake or the wrong way to go to build it out with a focus on design/experience more than utility.