How do I get them to sign the lease, or can I just get a written confirmation move in date then have them sign the lease?

Having said that, I still prefer the standard contract as it conforms to state law, and is designed to be fair to both parties, and covers a lot of the "what ifs" that can occur.  

If you have not heard from the tenant in months and/or she has not paid rent in months, visit the property immediately, or designate a representative to do this for you. 

I've spoke with the city probate clerk about becoming administrator of his estate, but since I'm not a blood relative and not his next of kin it's been a bunch of jumping through hoops.It's been a challenge trying to do anything regarding his affairs, because of course no one will talk to me without the admin designation.

My partner and I are looking jumping into the market in Cincinnati, we both live and work around boston, and work in urban design and planning.

You, however are not responsible for other structures.Make sure to read the contract as townhouse vs condo should be more of a legal difference than a design difference.

The owner would need to hire an civil engineer and real estate attorney (google "condo conversion attorney") to get this process started.The civil engineer would be in charge of designing a condo map and the lawyer would be responsible for the CC&R and legal docs. 

Then even if you can do a condo conversion you must make sure of all of your soft cost such as architectural design, civil and structural engineering, permit cost and know something about how the property would be appraised for property tax.

Historic Land Use Review process in Portland was PITA, but we settled on a great design and I'm happy with plan.  

@Bill S the lot is 6,870 sqft...I checked the Denver property records for this house and under property type it says "residential triplex" and under zoning district it says "E-SU-DX"Where can I go to confirm that this property has been zoned and approved to be a multi-family property?