The house is setup as two separate units - for the most part - and could formally be converted into a duplex with little additional effort.

Property tax assessment = $410K land, $40K improvements (building) = minimal depreciation deduction.Current home will rent for at least $2200, up to $2500.Mortgage on current home = $295K, $1350/mo.Property tax on current home = $550/moHomeowners Ins on current home = $75/moCurrent home will likely not go up in value very much over the next 3 years.So, is it a better financial plan to rent the current home, and be able to take tax deductions, and assume negligible effort as a landlord, or sell the home, and invest the ~$250K cash that will come out of the sale?

You have to put time and effort into the job or you don't get paid at all.Rentals generate small increments of income.

That is what they have in common; the real effort is getting at the info you need to answer "why is it a problem" and "how can I help them to turn this into an opportunity".

The investor that is essentially reducing crime and being paid for their time, effort, and risk?

For the other maintenance issues, continue to make a good faith effort to contact her but if you can't you should still be able to enter the unit for maintenance reasons; follow the laws for your jurisdiction.

I've had it now for about 2 months and feel like it was well worth the time, money and effort.

But this "house" costs 100 bucks, and you make 525 monthly with a little motivation and effort and most importantly: helping others.If you're interested please e-mail me at [email protected] is an opportunity of a lifetime.

If a rental, was the permit obtained in an effort to get the unit ready, or was it for work while the unit was occupied already?

Given time and effort, you'll bump into someone to become your private lender.That doesn't seem like it will help you, though.