I figured that technically there is nothing wrong here, it is more of a moral issue.

I offered a 5 k to a listing agent to get me the prize to where I wanted to be and she did not do it because off her morality.

I think the moral of the story here is to get started. 

I think the moral of the story is if you are buying in a area you don't know intimately - which often has to happen in multi-family especially if you are in an expensive area like Southern California, New York, parts of Texas...etc... - then you need to be REALLY careful about checking historical vacancy rates for the property, checking the supply and demand situation for the area, and studying the leases carefully.As my CPA tells me, 'if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.'  

Not that we like to , but if people end up being SOB's on their way out and leave owing money we have no problem chasing them down in court, even if we know we won't get any money out of it - we see it as a moral obligation to make sure others are protected down the track by setting up the appropriate red flags on their financial record.

I do not want to become an 'evicted tenant' for my own morale though.

I know I need to have these properties under contract to (morally for me) talk to the potential buyers I have identified.  

Nat:It's more than not fair, it's morally and, quite likely legally, wrong as well.The other option is to pursue the approach suggested by @Steven Picker.  

Moral of the StoryIf your wife wants to be part of your team it will come naturally.

Conversely if you can manage to find long-term tenants, the rate goes way down.The moral of the story is that an accurate vacancy rate is certainly needed for long term projections however, the vacancy rate is also one of those things that is highly variable, and yet often controllable, where the most savvy find ways to manipulate it in their favor which translates into very real dollars.