With all that's going on in society right now, be extra careful to screen screen screen your rental applicants, and do so beyond the standard credit/background checks, especially since here in Chicago eviction courts are shutdown.

Probably they would lose that position in court but landlords do not want to go after them so the tenant letters being sent out are more of a grab to see what they can get in relief from the landlord.

Functionally obsolete homes are also great finds as long as we could knock down walls and open it up (right in the architect's wheelhouse)I guess our rule of thumb for a "Great Find" is a home located in an area with enough sales activity (sold and pending sales) that our probability of success is high.

In other words, can you file suit in small claims court for money owed to get a judgement?

(It doesn’t matter whether the loss is deductible on your tax return.)You, your spouse, a co-owner of the home, or anyone else for whom the home was his or her residence:Died;Became divorced or legally separated;Gave birth to two or more children from the same pregnancy;Became eligible for unemployment compensation;Became unable, because of a change in employment status, to pay basic living expenses for the household (including expenses for food, clothing, housing, medication, transportation, taxes, court-ordered payments, and expenses reasonably necessary for making an income).An event is determined to be an unforeseeable event in IRS published guidance.Other Facts and CircumstancesEven if your situation doesn’t match any of the standard requirements described above, you still may qualify for an exception.

We're at our wits end with what to do, except threaten to take him to small claims court.

The Governor has put a stay on evictions, so if you need to evict, the courts will not process them. 

This means that you will need to pay registration and filing fees in at least 2 states if you don’t buy CA property.California tends to have more laws on the books and requirements and restrictions that it can be a good idea to form a CA LLC for out of state property so that you as a CA resident are covered, and to try to have your contracts fall under the purview of CA courts.

When they give you a price, I think they look at comps in the same ZIP, roughly same SqFt and then a price.I don't think they adjust for age, current property condition, does it have a good view, high/low crime, functional obsolescence, etc - The stuff an appraiser (and I'd hope a good BOV) would do.I guess the only parallel would be quants and stock picking.

Reality is....if they do not comply your current options are to offer Cash for Keys or wait until the courts reopen