In my area, the tenant may withhold rent or immediately leave if the landlord fails to make the place habitable.

So, they look for habitability issues as well as safety issues like detectors, handrails, GFCI outlets, etc.

Many investors are scared to get into them as college kids can potentially be harmful to a property.

The free and clear property is out of harm's way. 

@Timothy Eaton Starting off your business by breaking your word to a business partner may harm you more in the long run than honoring your word and making less.

There are loads of them in this business, sadly.So if you want to wait out the end of your lease with a dumb landlord who dislikes you and your habits, by all means, go for it.

(You still must of course keep the unit habitable,  and that could still be quite costly depending on the shape of the building)And when it does come to raising rent,    if possible do it in a few steps so it gives them more time to adjust.   

To provide a bit more context:- the first floor is a parking garage with concrete block walls and stucco siding- the second floor - the first habitable floor) is having significant water seep into the back wall (stick framing, stucco siding).

The little time I had with him I cherish and he is intensely missed every day.My primary career has been managing various claims from habitability to slip and fall (personal and commercial) workers comp to dog bite and private passenger auto/trucking with attorney involvement, so I’m not shy nor am I intimidated by these life sucking vampires, lol.

While you'll get only part of the sales that have taken place, you'll still get a certain amount of data, which could appear to be useful at first glance.However, when seriously thinking about it, I can't see how it'd be useful and I'm even thinking it could potentially be harmful.