They wrecked the unit before they left.Overall good learning experience and I profited from the whole thing anyway.

@Sam Teifke good question, it would be the same as any other wreck.

It's almost like watching a train wreck with all the regulations being passed lately; since I have no skin in the game in Portland besides my own residence I'm fascinated with how this will all play out. 

If the property is in your name it's not just the property up for grabs if you're sued by a tenant or say a car wreck victim.

What if he dies in a wreck, his kids don't know the deal.I could go on for hours like this. 

I probably should know the difference), I can't really get a loan.This would've been my first investment property, so you can see that this is a nerve wrecking purchase.The house needed a ton of work (redo two bathrooms -- including moving walls, redo kitchen, siding, etc), but it's literally 3 minutes walk from my home.

We are wrecking our brains (with the limited knowledge we have) on how to close this deal without bringing in other investors.

Maybe do a survey and make sure that the houses are on their own property, not encroaching on another lot.Make sure the ground water is not so high that it floods the basement, house.Make sure there are not a bunch of termites in the ground, and eaten up wood in the houses.Make sure the soil is not shifting, depending on where the houses are located, think sink hole.Check water pressure.Sooo, many things it could be physically.Then you have to look at the social things like the houses getting broken into every other day, neighbors from the hood, or even a building inspector going through a divorce:)  Or maybe it is just something simple like the buyer could not get financed since the house is a wreck, only certain financing is available.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_MortgageLots of train wrecks are also OTW for this real estate cycle. 

The tenant went months without paying rent and wrecked the place.