Most residential properties in the city are well out of FEMA flood zones except in places like this property that abut the River Des Peres which is the spillway for the city sewer system.

Everything gets snatched fast because people are desperate for a place to live.

But where you see a shady character trying to squeeze your friend for more money, I see someone desperate and more than a bit foolish trying to make up for lapses in the contract's language to deal with a situation that has clearly gotten out of hand.If I were your landlord, I would still start the process of evicting your friend and let the magistrate decide how unclear the language of the contract was, and make sure that the case was in the record even if it cost me money and I lost.

You do not want to own property (or earn income) under the jurisdiction of a desperate & broke government unless there is a risk/return ratio that takes such an environment into consideration.

Sub2 is Never a good idea for a seller, unless you are in desperate straits. 

I have to assume that there might be some work that needs to be done unless the seller really is that desperate to dump the properties at such a discount.

If I felt the seller was desperate, I would likely offer a larger EMD and explain what that meant, in order to help ease their mind.

He also couldn't rent it for enough to cover his payments.So he had 1 month before the bank would start foreclosure proceedings and he was desperately trying to just break even, that's all he could hope for.When I offered to take over his payments, what do you think he said?

Don't get to the point where you feel desperate and hopeless because that's about the time you'll strike gold as in Napoleon Hill's Three Feet from Gold story about perseverance.  

While everyone desperately collects buyers and begs buyers to be on their list...