To the best of my knowledge, the only case I can think of when a tenant can hire a 3rd party to repair something is if it is a danger (water/gas leak etc) and the landlord does not respond within 24 or 48 hours (which I think depends on the state).

He's agreed to give me at least 3 months notice, so I'm not in any danger of being kicked out on the street. 

Lease  with option to purchase is a great strategy but if you don't know/understand the dangers, it can be a disaster.

Some are fully aware of the dangers of wildly fueling the market and the potential costs to taxpayers, but they don’t care, as long as they make buckets of money in the meantime.

High-risk tenants also seem to be enamored with large, dangerous breeds.

I'm guessing the rehab and risk is less with the one family because you have fewer kitchens and it just is generally going to cost less going that route. 

In my county, I think the best way would be to get the records straight from the county so that you can see who actually hasn’t paid in several years and is in real danger of losing their home.

It is just too easy for a seller to pass on potentially dangerous defects to an unsuspecting buyer and walk away scot-free.      

., my understanding is that if you own four or fewer rental units in DC (including the one you would be purchasing), you can raise the rent to anything you want.There are a couple of things to consider here. 

Now this could be more dangerous than just putting money in a savings account if your house was to lose value but the decision is yours to make.