Why Part of a Good Deal is Better Than 100% of No DealHey BiggerPockets Community,As real estate investors, we all want the perfect deal—the one where we control everything, make the most money, and have the best terms.

Losing control of the process matters. 

So, as a buyer I would not want to spend money before having a contract.

They can introduce themselves face-to-face with the tenants, change the locks to control the property, get a copy of the lease from the tenant or sign a new one, etc.As for the old PM, it sounds like they owe you a copy of the lease and other paperwork (required by law), undelivered rent and security deposit, etc.I would compile your documentation and file a complaint with the Ohio real estate commission.

.- We can better control what's on our master key system- EVERY lock at a property is opened with one key (well, maybe not the garage car-door)!

In CA currently only MF properties are rent controlled.

Creative strategies like lease options allow investors to control properties without owning them upfront.

The more time you spend talking about other options and try to build up the negatives, the less time you are spending on what you fell are the positives of your own idea.If you believe that you are onto a great idea using L2P option contracts and forming partnerships where someone else provides 100% of the money while you provide 100% of the real estate-related functions, then start it up and make it work.  

It’s a short dead end road so I have this notion to own the whole street and control the look and quality of the neighborhood . 

I would spend hours on the phone assisting them with their deals, I’d write all their questions down and then sit with Dave and the other PPR partners, after work getting their answers.