In other words, don't leave stuff in view, and most thieves won't think about seeing if you have anything to steal."

I can't afford (literally) to have thieves or druggies around any more. 

Also, the UK is very much an exception to the rule as identity is checked in most European countries with national identity cards.

All four units are identical, and according to my research should rent for between $725-750 per month.

FIRST establish your investor identity; what type of deals do you want to get involved in (flips, wholesales, buy & hold, rent to own, etc), what type of property do you want to invest in (single family homes, multi family, commercial, etc), what's your risk tolerance, what sort of returns do you expect to get, do you want to be hands on or make it as passive as possible, etc.SECOND pick a strong market based on it's ability to meet your investor identity and based on strong fundamentals like I mentioned above.THIRD put together your team in that market.

Before the auction, I knew the property was occupied but I didn't know the identities of the occupants.

In other words, it asserts, landlords could be breaking the law when they refuse to rent to black ex-cons with long rap sheets — even if they have no intention of discriminating — because such a policy would likely have a disproportionate impact on them.So now landlords, real estate agents and property managers will think twice before turning away drug dealers and thieves, even rapists, who are members of this “protected class” — even though barring high-risk tenants serves a legitimate, nondiscriminatory purpose.This puts landlords in a terrible legal bind.To protect themselves from federal action, they would be wise to avoid even inquiring about the criminal records of prospective tenants.

She already has a over the toilet storage unit for those wondering, almost identical to the one @Joe Splitrock posted.

I'm in a near identical situation with a landlord who doesn't care to correct.

You can also verify the chain of title and identity of the current owner.