When you purchase a property you basically need to say to yourself is this intended to be for investment purposes (capital asset) where you wear an investor hat, or is it going to be sold off soon thereafter (inventory or ordinary) where you are considered a dealer.  

I recommend you provide one reliable form of communication that is in writing (email is my preference) that allows them to ask questions, report ordinary maintenance, etc.

Seller acknowledges and agrees that in reference to the physical condition of the Property, Seller agrees to: (a) disclose in writing to Buyer defects in the Property known to Seller that materially affect the value of the Property that cannot be discovered by a reasonable inspection by an ordinary prudent Buyer; (b) carefully review, complete, and provide to Buyer a written Seller property condition disclosure as stated in Section 7(a); (c) deliver the Property to Buyer in substantially the same general condition as it was on the date of Acceptance, as defined in Section 23, ordinary wear and tear excepted; (d) deliver the Property to Buyer in broom-clean condition and free of debris and personal belongings; and (e) repair any Seller or tenant moving-related damage to the Property at Seller's expense.

1) There are ordinary/W2/active income on one side.

The result would be that their rental activity would not be per se passive and, since they materially participated in the rental activity, the couple could deduct the losses against their ordinary income.

Before purchasing the property I had reviewed the rent rolls and was aware of the fact that this tenant had paid late a few months, but it was nothing that was out of the ordinary. 

And lastly, I've always wanted to retain as much suspended loss as possible to use in some manner to offset ordinary gains from retirement accounts when RMDs start..But the Lazy Man 1031 is not something to ignore. 

Or, if your investment holdings are in a Roth IRA, your investment gains accumulate tax-free, and you can withdraw it tax-free.You still must wait until you reach age 59½ to withdraw your funds, or else you will be subject to an early withdrawal penalty, and the withdrawal will be included as ordinary income on your tax return.

The homes that don’t have decks have concrete patios.

This will ultimately determine the type of gain flowing through (ordinary/capital or a mix)