You are right, but rarely are things that cut and dry in reality. 

@Bill Brandt appreciate the advice- she has owned the property for some time now; not having all information i believe she had a market she was doing well in until that market dried up, decide to sell and that fell through a few years ago.

it used to be a dry cleaners. hired an lsrp and did all the research. got to the point to we know the cost to close. 200k left to spend.

However, I am not as concerned with crime or the quality of tenants (to a degree) at this time, as I am with ensuring the property is up to code and isn't going to land me in some kind of hot water with the municipality (particularly as the area transitions through the Target Neighborhood Plan).Just received the report back on a property I am pursuing, and would like to know potential shortfalls of some of these items that may or may not be a big deal.  1980s era build with the following items of interest:- Lacking 1A10-BC extinguishers, water heaters lacking drip tubes and seismic straps, windows blocked by stored items preventing egress, common area doors not self-closing or fire rated, cleaning/sealing water staining in various areas, other key areas with wood rot/staining as viewed from crawl space, roof missing some shingles (age unknown), birds in attic (missing some grates), vapor barrier to thin/missing in crawl space, exterior damp proofing damaged. 

After that I had to keep pushing them to send people to workNow they are doing the same thing asking me to pay for all of Dry wall although they are not reading - still need blocks furring etc

Make sure your on site when they inspect to ensure they pump the tanks dry to do a thorough inspection.

If it went to the subfloor - mop with bleach mixture, let dry; roll on two coats of Kilz and one coat of clear sealer. 

Plus, a new managment company were the past ones were milking us dry on repair costs. 

For most of the homes the carpets alone were $3200 to $4900 plus two coats of paint on every wall and ceiling, replacing broken bathroom sinks, kitchen sinks, faucets, repairing air conditioners, replacing cracked times on roof 36 feet high, bringing in 4 to 8 tons of rocks to make the yards look nice, trimming trees, repairing sprinkler systems and the piping, replacing refrigerators, stoves, washing machines clothes dryers, water heaters, painting garage floors ceilings and walls, bringing in 20-yard trash bins to remove all the carpets, trees trimmings and trash left by tenants, replacing all the window blinds, door knobs that are broken and locks for the main door and locks for the garage door so the keys match, repairing garage door openers that are broke, repairing the garage door rollers and seals, painting the trim outside the house, replacing facia boards that are 36 feet high, replacing window screens and the screens on sliding doors, replacing entire windows just because tenants broke the window locks and they cannot be repaired, replacing kitchen counter tops that are destroyed, replacing all the kitchen doors and drawers because tenants destroyer the cabinets by hanging their wet laundry in the kitchen cabinet doors to dry. replacing garbage disposers, dishwashers and the list goes on and on.

I would think the cost would depend a lot on the age of the house, previous tenants, trees on the property (they fall on houses), old concrete work, wood rot, plumbing condition, etc...