In retirement, real estate will be pretty much your only available tax write for what I anticipate to be significant income when you combine ss plus your 401k and other investment streams etc.I look at my businesses as additional cash flow that help to accelerate my rei and do not count on that cash whatsoever to live.

There are a lot of things you can invest in relative to real estate and get a good returns with additional appreciation. 

The mobile home owner pays an additional $200 per month in rent to keep it and live on the property.

In addition, since your partner is a real estate agent you can put the agency banner head and his photo on the letter showing that he is a real estate agent.

I am currently transitioning from being a law enforcement supervisor (where I have been for 5 years), to running my own interior design and staging company in Seattle with additional interest in rehab project management for investors/flippers.

They have a newsletter full of content that you can customize with your contact info, and print off and distribute.Then, I would pick an area that you want to farm. start small, and add additional sections as money becomes available.If you are really eager, and ready to work for it, print off the most recent comps of your farm area (or the newsletter as mentioned above), and go walk the neighborhood. 

After paying in additional 10% in Principle.Mortgage will go down to 1290/month.I realize there is a negative cash flow to start, but im thinking the 15k in equity off the bat and highly recommended tenants making rent payments in the 1st month is worth it (no waiting a month or more to find a good tenant.)Main goal is buy and hold.

----------------------Surely a flooded home qualifies as an emergency, also his lease may have additional details that may help.I'm more interested in why she wouldn't want him to enter....something shady must be going on!!!  

In addition to reading all the great information here, start reaching out to people and making time to meet with the frequent posters here.  

Additionally: whatever you do about this, try to stick to email (other written communication) that you can later go back to in case the tenant decides to claim that he was not fully reimbursed.(1) Ask the former owner for any Lease he had with this tenant (it sounds like you were this tenant's landlord for 6 days - I'd ask for this document during the purchase period.)