One it could be destroyed and the owner could take a loss of rent on their insurance (if they have this included)Two, they could have the tenant vacate for the portion of time that they need to fix the property back to habitability.

It's not likely, but it's not impossible a tornado could level this city, destroying my entire portfolio.

It's possible that if do this AFTER closing, you end up with a few evictions on your hands, which will destroy a good deal.My suggestion is to learn how the tenants feel before closing.

Think about it what if you close and it turns out the house is destoyed   Who is to say it was destroyed before or after the closing.  

Doing this creates additional problems and gives what already seems like someone with nothing to lose incentive to destroy your unit.

We also have parents as co-signers, and that helps preclude neglect when the parents know they're also on the hook if little Junior destroys the place. 

However, after discussing more with the realtor it was disclosed that the landlord was responsible for water and gas, which very much destroyed the cash flow I thought I had.

And yes like cats they will destroy the property.

If they were damaged this time they may be destroyed next time.For those interested in long term investments southern and coastal areas should be avoided if for no other reason than insurance costs.

With houses, there are so many ways things can absolutely get destroyed by rain/mold/rot/etc, whereas I feel like a well run condo association takes care of the outside better.