Burn the home down3.

That means that it's grandfathered in as triplex (but if it were to burn down, it couldn't get rebuilt as a triplex, but as current zoning as duplex). 

Do you think you're going to be covered if the 3rd tenant starts a fire and burns the place down?

He was a burned out landlord and tired of it.

Burn the boat.  

And you may burn the bridge if you fire them from PM to where they don't do the rehab work anymore.

This was not the case of vandals burning abandoned buildings, nor the case of landlords burning building to collect insurance.  

But he eventually spun his inherited wealth into an image of being a smart businessman (despite several bankruptcies, many failed businesses, burning a lot of people and being part of many, many bad deals and scams).

You're going to get burned if you don't dig deeper and do more research.Friendly advice:)

Think of PM like insurance- you wouldn't own a property without insuring it. 99% of the time, things are fine and you don't need the insurance and it feels like you are throwing money away, but when your house floods or burns down, you'll be happy you paid those premiums.