For context my wife and I livr about 6 blocks away so it's in walking distance.

I spent alot of had earnt cash on somebody elses property that added value to. i didnt have any plans for the future but i knew id find something that would create the freedom i wanted. im 37 now and want to get into the real estate world.Ive been away from australia for 10 years and havent been able to follow the market trends but i know the interest rates are below 4% but house prices have increased significantly.For example i bought my land for 90000 and built on for 120000 now a block of land the same size is around 300000 and the median price for a house in my area is 420000.So i have equity that i could re invest for.

Since texting isn't likely a required method of communication outlined in the lease, I'd just block his texts at this point.Its definitely time for an attorney, and I'd recommend using someone who is a heavy-hitter as a landlord advocate so that any silly half-baked attorney this guy hires will get the idea that you mean business and know what they are up against.

This property definitely qualifies as the cheapest property on the block.

I would buy the smallest, most run down house on the nicest block that you can realistically afford.

As you guessed, the layout is not quite conducive to supporting non-resident access as the tenants will block the driveway to the structure.

In any event, it is on a good block in a great neighborhood, so it could make financial sense.  

Its more painful to learn this way but it definitely will not be forgotten very easily once learned the hard way.

At 18 years old I hadn't yet developed the financial or creative intelligence to circumvent my road blocks.

I was a bit lax on this one as we own 2 other houses in a a 3 block radius of this one, including the one next door and had no problems with the others - folks in that area tend to take good care of their homes.Lots of little red flags on this property though - they were stealing electricity using jumper cables (who does that?)