If it's a wash, or an unknown gamble, then you are wasting your time to do any more to the property.It's a tough decision only you can answer but right now it's costing you more money to hold. 

Aside from that, I'd prefer a known good tenant over a gamble any day.  

It's a gamble, though.Just be sure what you do is legal.  

If you're already heavily invested in capital gains stocks and your primary residence, I would say that you are introducing too much risk into your overall portfolio by buying (with leverage) an appreciation-only triplex.If you have a lot of other investments which generate cash-flow like dividend producing stock or cashflow REI and you like to gamble, I don't see a problem at all with buying this property hoping for some appreciation.Also, I would be wary saying you don't need the cash flow if you are only offsetting the negative cashflow with income from your job.  

Or if you are willing to gamble that investment money in the hands of strangers.I wouldn't be.You may think I'm just a negative person.  

Second, if they've been there forever,  do u want to gamble a possible long term tenant but with low rent or higher rent with possibly a lot of turnovers? 

If I make 9% in the market I'm doing a great job, but if I make -9% I'm screwed, so that seems like a huge gamble compared to a guaranteed ROI. 

This seems like a reasonable gamble.

Some RE investors don't like the concept of public benefit programs and subsidized housing, and/or the characteristics of some of the people these programs support.For other investors, such as ourselves, we find partnering with our local housing authority beneficial to all parties involved and our community as a whole.

It is a quadraplex and so if I got a full occupancy then all the effort will have ben worth the gamble.