I wanted to exit this place ASAP and start on the next, but I think this would delay my plans a little bit. 

Owner was motivated and work needed was minimal How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

If you are over for a bill period it's likely minimal and then tenant can probably absorb that amount in the monthly payment.

If your house is a 1950s with minimal updates in a C/D area, $800/month is not unreasonable given the 1 bathroom and lack of updates. 

You can use Fannie Mae "Delayed Financing" to immediately refinance a purchase to get your cash back quick.

Save/"delay" ALL his LTCG!

A basic contract price will not allow them to make enough to keep their business running between typical job delays, weather etc...., so they will take on another job or two to keep their cashflow going.

You could add a couple hundred dollars income every month with minimal effort.

These days you also need to factor in delays to the renovation schedule due to supply chain and labor shortage.

It saved me the stress of dealing with the unknown and delaying my timeline to get to the closing table ASAP... that is priceless!