Assuming they have insurance, it should cover this (less the deductable).Oren

I am specifically wondering if the income would be high enough to at least cover the mortgage and preferably bring in a small profit as well. 

If there is one vacant house, the other property can still cover some or most of the expenses.Again, these are my thoughts you should go with you comfort level and risk appetite.

I don’t mind sharing my house with tenants for a while, specially as they cover a good portion if not all of the experiences.

If it's cosmetic rehab, and the rental market pricing covers more than my estimated PITI + vacancies/CAPEX/repairs etc in a good school district, I would probably rent.If I have to put in a lot of $$$ to gut a house, it's a flip. 

It's not that I don't trust him, just trying to make sure I cover my *** if things were to go south.

Anyways, prior to all this, I had already agreed to the fence (which wasn't much) and I finally agreed to the washer and dryer allowance, but not before having them cover some of the closing costs.

@Larry Moore Jan and Larry Jordan run a meetup group in Blue Springs - they have a meeting Thursday Night - I think that is covering tax sales in Jackson County - their last email to me said that the list will be available Friday and you have to get it from a legal publication like the Daily Record or the Pulse Legal - these can get you probably the lists in Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass - and maybe St Louis - just note that St Louis County and Jackson County do not sell tax liens, but sell properties after 4 years of non-payment so their sales differ.Look for the Blue Springs Real Estate Investment Group on Meetup to get more info about this event to learn how Jackson County tax sales work.

So making long story short they simply covered their *** legally and there is nothing you can really do if your city code prevents you from removing dangerous pests by yourself. 

It should not be a problem to sell except that you might have to bring money to closing to cover the costs of sale of about 6% or about $6,000 for each $100,000 plus regular escrow and title costs.