And later on, if values get back to "robust" levels, you could sell with the appreciation, or continue renting and cash-flowing at the favorable level.This is all coming from a newbie, so take it for what it's worth. 

NEVER let a tenant, especially if they are new, get away with late rent.

A close friend was starting in Real Estate so we connected and here I am 2 years later in the business development role for Bolthouse Homes.

I will be meeting with my friend and his lawyer to go over all details of the transaction later this week.

Several weeks later I finally opened up one of my emails containing my keyword alerts and noticed I had messages from people in the BP community. 

I would get all the quality work done by the seller that you can before closing, but sounds like you are discounting the hvac already....after that you are relying on the kindness of strangers (so they probably won't fix it later)..and get your landlording processes in place too.

Again this was 2006, the school could be a lot different ten years later.

You don't need an $8K surprise later on.

Then the buyer came back 2 weeks later after actually taking the time to look at the house and said "Well with my calculations it needs 15K of work and I don't pay over 70% of ARV minus repairs so I want to adjust the offer to 55K.

When I hear 'investor friendly', it usually means the client is looking for an agent to submit a large number of contracts at low-ball prices in the hopes that they can wholesale and/or assign them later.