the biggest issues are that the available tenant base drops dramatically around October and doesn't pick up again till the end of the school year.People are no different than animals in that regard.They want to be settled and hunkered down in a property before the school year and/or bad weather starts.Quality tenants with good financial backgrounds don't want to move their families in the middle of an icy,snowy winter for obvious reasons,and good college students have already started school in August.Many of the few available tenants will have questionable backgrounds like recent job loss,previous eviction,bad credit,difficult income verification and don't make 3 times the rent,criminal records,etc.   

It sounds like the lender is going to have to cut their losses on the existing owner and foreclose on them or do a short-sale type transaction where you purchase it, but at a value less than what the lender owes. 

Chances are, your inspection money is a loss, and appraisal as well.

You can always write off the loss.

Most of the jobs are ag related however- we have a John Deere dealership, Dalton Ag which manufactures other ag products, Michael Foods which is a egg factory, Taygold cooperative, Precision- makes pulley's and idlers for things such as wind turbines, etc.

You still look good on paper (cash flow), you can still pay it off in 15 years if you want, you have risk mitigation if the market goes down, and banks like to see profit rather than losses.

Food insecure, medicine insecure, transportation insecure.  

The only thing I've been able to find is a rent-free lease, which essentially would just put me in a net operating loss since I would have no income.

., how did you arrive or decide at 12% economic loss?

They're definitely taking a loss on this one.