We drove by the house to see it in person first and found several sort of big things wrong: the gravel driveway was more grass than gravel, the back yard was about 20 feet from door right up to railroad tracks, and (BIGGIE) my hubby went around the back and saw char on the back of the house, seemingly from a fairly recent fire (which wasn't disclosed on realtor (dot) com of course).

@charli I will definitely follow your advice for future deals like this one. 

Sure looks like aluminum wire and looks like is been hot from the charring on the insulation.

After opening up just about every switch, outlet and ceiling light in both rooms, I found melted and charred wires and wire nuts in the electrical box above one of the ceiling lights.Another tenant, in a four unit, calls and says "we've been hearing the sound of water running for three days."

Good luck, Char

Originally posted by @Char Prado:Don't be discouraged! 

Fire damage can be tricky but from what I understand any framing that's at least 2/3 intact (not charred and brittle) can be salvaged.

Originally posted by @Char Bacheh:if my business is paying some other business loan interest can it be deductible? 

So some of the floor joists are a little charred so I'm curious how jacking them up would affect their integrity.

@Char Silk Midwest City is a great rental market!