I recently read in Forbes that investing near growing transit hubs can offer great appreciation potential.

Banks really don't understand crypto, and the ones that do hate it because it POTENTIALLY puts t hem out of a job. 

Here's a breakdown of the situation:Current Occupancy: 80% (16/20 units occupied).Current Gross Rent Roll: $14,265/month.Market Rent Potential: $17,665/month (100% occupancy).Renovation Needs: 15 units require full renovation ($10K/unit), 4 units are 75% renovated ($2.5K/unit), totaling $160K in renovation costs.Vacancy Loss: $41,820/year in lost income due to current vacancies.Cap Rate AnalysisThe seller lists the cap rate as 9.59%, but this is based on the projected NOI of $119,858 (assuming full occupancy and market rents).

All too typical park owner who took all the profit out of the park without reinvesting in the business then wants to sell you the potential he was too cheap to invest in. 

Also, most Umbrella Policies only pay out if your underlying policy pays out, and the underlying policy will do everything they can to find an exclusion or that you were negligent (which you probably were) in the cause of action to get out of paying the claim.

Assume a couple of months of vacancy, consider potential unexpected repairs (like HVAC or plumbing issues), and test the numbers with rents dropping by 10-15%.

Quote from @Christian Styles: Potentially able to help you find someone but I would need to know specifically where the property is in order to know who to recommend.  

How can we best protect ourselves from potential retaliation and property damage?

NJ is a big one—places like Newark, Paterson, or even smaller towns have better cash flow potential.

Using these parts of local zoning can lead to potential deals.