Ultimately whether it's an emergency or not will boil down to whether it affects the habitability of the home (you can read more about that here). 

Growth and re-vitalization continues to creep further east and southeast from downtown.  

I decided last year to embark on a different strategy than my normal buy and hold investment strategy given that the market for buy and holds in California has become a lot more difficult where we have seen CAP rates ...

When you (investors) choose to pick up a rental property out of state, how vital is the knowledge of the subject's area to your decision making?

If it was attic space then it more than likely wasn’t designed or constructed for habitable floor loading.

They can tell you the citations that need to be fixed for it to be considered habitable.

Because, when you're a LL, you're taking on the responsibility of providing someone else with a habitable home and that needs to be taken seriously. 

I think you'll find that most serious investors who have been doing this for a long-time don't make a habit of screwing people out of deals.  

If your insurance covers loss of rental income that may be another source for capital during that time and may offset the cost of the hotel.If its going to take longer than a few weeks, you may offer to have them stay in another rental property if you have one available until the repairs are made.If none of the above options are available, then you may have to look at evicting because the house is not habitable and is too much of a liability.I would definitely exhaust all options to keep the tenants if they have been good tenants. 

There is a huge vitalization planned there and a proposed Brewery that has already got a lease on a building.