Down the rabbit hole a bit more.... 

His wife said he was out of town on business and that she would try to reach him.As the rain continued, I had to swap the pot for a garbage can from outside, and then a small hole opened in the ceiling and the rain came down like an open faucet. 2 more calls to the landlord's wife and she just kept telling me the same thing...her husband was out of town.And I was out of luck - no sleep that night, and I had to have a garbage can in my bedroom.

I just feel like going deep into rabbit holes like this aren't worth my time and effort tbh.

So instead of trying to force square peg's in round holes, maybe consider better uses of your energy, how to better get round peg's that fit nice and neatly, and at a nice profit I might add. 

., cleanliness, basic landscaping for SFHs, holes in the wall, doorknobs broken, etc.).

I have found a honey hole and want to keep this relationship going well…..so what would you do?

the issue with sub 2 wrap goes deeper than just monetary loss.. your risking the people you bought the house from as well.. and I will say one more time.. if you buggar their credit because you cant refi if  gets called or cant make payments for them.. then this goes way past you lost a little money and it ends up with lawyer letters  complaints to the AG  etc etc..

Closing up holes is part of preventing them from coming back in and also preventing them from traveling throughout the house.  

I would then get a inspection of the foundation and house but then I'm 1k in the hole without any promise of purchase beforehand.

Hi Matthew,I second the idea of skimming through the beautiful rabbit hole of Pinterest to get ideas and brainstorm.