I know times like this are painful but before you head to the edge of that cliff just remember that this is temporary and contemplate the increase in net worth you'll achieve when you update the place after the tenant is gone

Another option I am contemplating if I don't rent my spare BR to friends is renting my bedroom on airbnb or VRBO just like @Craig curelop mentions he did in his book "The House Hacking Strategy".

Butts was arrested and charged Wednesday with arranging an attack for cash on her landlord over an ongoing dispute, prosecutors said.Ashley Melissa Butts, 30, of Inglewood and her friend, Israel Rios, were taken into custody on an arrest warrant stemming from the April 30 attack, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court complaint.Butts and Rios are charged with assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, conspiracy to commit a crime and first-degree burglary.Shortly after Butts moved into her landlord’s home in the 3300 block of West 78th Street in Hyde Park, they began quarreling, prosecutors said.According to the criminal complaint, Butts called Rios on her cellphone and instructed Rios to come to their home, so that he could attack the victim in exchange for cash.Butts allegedly then had an Uber driver pick up Rios, 37, and an unidentified man and drive them to her home.

However if the tenant was a victim of an assault because BF broke in then tenant is probably not liable as he was not an invitee or a guest. 

Disorderly Conduct, maybe OK: assault, not OK.  

A lot of this is simply playing the cards your dealt.. when I was starting in the industry in the mid 70s I lived in the SF bay area so that's were we invested Northern CA.. the thought of going across country to buy a rental was not contemplated.. 

I’ve been contemplating getting my real estate license for awhile now.

I am contemplating doing that if the premium comes in way higher because this BFE may not be determined yet for this particular neighborhood. 

I just got one - a father and son (and pregnant fiancee, God help her) duo - with 3 entire pages of  convictions and arrests (repeated offenses) for everything you can think of : burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic battery, felony battery, drug possession, that's not even all of it.

The idea that you can only improve a SFR to the market rate makes a lot of sense, and has caused some seriously deep contemplation.