When I decided to sell this property & hired a real estate agent, he discovered that the home was in poor condition & wasn't able to put it on the market at the time.The roof had missing flashing on the gable but the entire roof was replaced by contractors hired by USREEB late 2016 as they insisted that it could not be repaired.The living room floor had soft spots under the carpet & the sub flooring was damaged.

The duplex / house hacking thing could work but what happens if there is an issue with a tenant , eviction or a bunch of damage to unit or a big ticket item needs to be replaced just seems to risky .Working on the getting a higher paying job or income should be a priority right now I'd say .I know Dave Ramsey brings this up pretty often .

Do not delay, as others have said, if something happens you could be held liable for the damages.

While it could take months and result in more damage, the seller will assume the cost and risk while I stand by.Alternatively, I could make a much lower offer for the house and tenant.

So do damages, especially without deposits. 

Ok, you might also want a structural engineer to take a look if the space has been uninhabited for 30 or so years especially if there was fire damage. 

Even if you would have used all of the deposit for damages you would still have 1750 in profit.

Management should get off their sorry rear ends now and begin the process of attempting to find a replacement tenant with the hoped for goal of a new lease starting in January 1st, 2018.If a new tenant is found sooner (and a lease is started on, say December 10th) and there is no damage above normal wear and tear to the rental unit then management would need to return the difference in rent back to the original (now departed) tenant (minus any expenses for advertising the unit to get it re-rented).The entire point is that it is totally untrue that the rental unit has to remain empty for the remainder of the lease while property management sits around doing nothing.Gail

This was a very extensive job with water damage.

I know I don't have a keen eye for all the small details, but I didn't see any of the major signs to look for, ie mold and structure damage.