Sander Van Sletteland I love the pot smoking, tree huggin, jungle hippie picture.How can you move from the wonderful dry heat to that humidity?

I was traveling 9 months out of the year and my wife was in school full-time.

In my most recent sale the contractor used combo smoke/CO detectors.

His quote wasn't the lowest but he had good references and didn't reek of cigarette smoke.

We live below our means and save as much as we could (Still lives happily, thanks to free travel and hotels from credit card offers).

@Chris Frydenlund I've been living in an Airstream for the last 9 months while traveling around the country, and I've had similar thoughts about converting it to an AirBnB when I come off the road.I would encourage you to do whatever you can to find a situation in which you have access to 'full hookup' for water, sewer and electric.

I also like the idea of being able to travel for pleasure more often without having to worry about the burden it puts on my bank account.

I am also buying an out-of-area property that I will furnish, but for a different clientele (business travelers and people who are relocating).

I'd worry about smoke inside.

In your case, you have a problem with the utility structure (not broken out separately), a problem with the administrative structure (tenants who agreed to pay utilities but don't, and a former owner that paid for them), and a problem with the unit structure (smoked-in apartments, torn up carpeting, etc).You need to decide what's best for your long-term investment here.