I saw no evidence of mold or mildew growing on the walls, ceiling or the carpet. 

So, here is good evidence of my dilemma.

You might not want to live there but your "customer" is the section 8 tenant and they most likely would be fine living in a nice house even though next door is an eyesore.Third, I wouldn't worry about the tree unless you see clear evidence of some kind of damage happening now.

Everything I know about this subject is anecdotal evidence. 

You can appeal the judgement if you did Not receive the "summons to appear" and ask for the proof of service.If you have enough evidence you can also consult an attorney to see what their opinion is on suing the landlord for Florida Statute 83.64 "Retaliatory conduct"Lastly as Amy stated you can consider moving all your stuff into Air Conditioned storage, you will get Mold all over everything since we are in the rainy season otherwise. 

Speculation is when you buy and have no evidence or reliable data available to base your expectation of profit upon.

For example, even if I don't see any evidence of termites on the initial walk-through, I assume we'll find termites and will need to treat for them and fix some damage (add $1000 to my worst-case budget).

I'd be replacing the locks and taking possession of the apartment no sooner than 72 hours and any possessions in the apartment after that time will be considered abandoned.I feel like a court/judge would side with me on this, especially if I include photos and other evidence of why his lease is being terminated.

If I had clear evidence of sales figures from the last six months in a particular subdivision showing a specific clearing price, and I thought that my exit price would be decently under those clearing prices, I took the deal.

A Master Lease could work very well with a troubled property.You want an apartment building where a hidden value play is evident, i.e.