You can see good appreciation if the area improves and becomes more of an owner-occupant area but that is of course speculative.

As a speculative play?

You've gone down the rabbit hole so far that it would be difficult for you to just bail at this point (Speculation on my part but, it would be  difficult for me to bail with that type of capital infusion), and they know it. 

If they generally speaking have enough cash and income to live off of, but they don't want to run the business any more, I'm speculating they are getting in their later years and just aren't up for the business aspect any more. 

These steps are how speculators add value to existing property.

This is just purely speculation, but if they have another property under contract close by and also up for rent maybe they are pushing off both closings until they get one rented and then they will pull out of whatever deal they can't get rented.Are they financing the deal or paying cash?

I am not a 1%-er and see appreciation as speculation.  

Is everything based on speculation, betting on appreciation, annual increase in market rent and principal pay down?

First I found a source of financing that would loan on speculative home. 

Bitcoin:- deregulated- the supply can be printed or manipulated or being added without further- subject for speculation- does not solve any problem since it's not created to be in sync with real productivityCurrency:- heavy regulated, especially being printed following labour productivity capacity ,inflation expectation and foreign currency exchange.- the supply can only be added by one authority.- subject for speculation depending on macro economic terms- Solve the needs for a country to sustain its population needs.