On the inside, the apartment was left pretty dirty..greasy stove from oil being over heated, dust all over ceiling and walls(an impressive amount), wall stains from what looks like candles or incense burning?

I'd suggest reading up on the topic on the forums, where you'll find many examples of inexperienced investors crashing and burning hard trying to do out of state (OOS) REI...the story is usually the same--they had no experience with REI, they couldn't find any cashflowing properties locally, but they saw that properties in other states (often the Midwest) cashflowed well on paper.

Got so burned

Unfortunately my credit took a huge hit because I co-signed for someone’s vehicle and got burned with them missing 8 payments.

If you are part-time, I wouldn't do this because you won't be available for them or know enough to help and will burn the friendship.I would have to know why you got your license to tell you what to do first.

@John Currey, leaving it up to the contractor to tell you what needs to be done is a great way to get burned and lose money.

After being burned more times than I care to admit to, I've realized I'm a business, not a charity. 

but yes it does come down to that.. in tax cert states keep in mind many insurance companies or large corps or hedge funds will bid down the returns to 3 to 5% there by cleaning the clock of every private investor who thought they were going to win at auction.. so what happens in reality is people burn out doing DD and never getting anything . 

I had a cabin burn to the ground, and the cost to replace it exceeded my limit by 50 percent. 

@Darrcelle McGinnis wow, I should play the lottery today:)Couple of thoughts:1) Don't burn a bridge with the contractor friend.