I been approached on occasions to get involved in business propositions that look great on the surface, but just didn't sit right for me after doing the my due diligence.

My gut tells me that we have not even began to scratch the surface in this two hour session let alone be ready for deals, yet that is how most of these guys presumably got started.  

The landlord is in violation of city code which states that "No basement may be used as a habitable room unless floors and walls are impervious to leakage of underground and surface run-off water."

How's the drainage away from the property?

The pros are: Looks nice, easy to put in, you can replace a piece later if it gets jacked up, you can install over almost any surface.

I'm just starting to scratch the surface on investing.

And around here, Boston, you can't just fill it in, because it becomes a soft spot with the limited drainage (even if it leaks).

This may cost a little more than just a surface cleaning but you need to show a good faith effort.  

What we discovered was that the house has a floating slab so there is a small channel around the whole thing which would normally catch any moisture and either route it to the floor drain or let it evaporate but in this case was used to feed moisture directly to the finished surfaces.

Cracks in the basement walls mostly and uneven surfaces if the property is on a slab.