There definitely need to be safeguards for both landlords and tenants in place, but sometimes laws are so restrictive that they tie the hands of one or the other.I need to study the laws of my home state more.

Anybody have a case study of a situation of a similar situation where a substantial number of homes were damaged due to flood or natural disaster and the associated real estate market reaction? 

I have however been studying market cycles lately and I want to see what other people have to say about the Nashville and surrounding areas market.

But this does not exclude me from starting a new business.I'm one of those people who believe you should never throw away something that you studied long and hard for, which included my previous profession of System Analysis for Financial Companies.It got me to a high salary.

They put up all the money to purchase, they put up all the money for repairs, and if you find some massive issue or you just decide you don't want to do it, you can walk away and they're left holding the bag.You will find some "lenders" who say they will do this, and go through some paperwork and then at the end you discover they want "payment insurance" or a ridiculous "application fee" of a couple thousand dollars.

I am a 22 year old student at NC State studying Aerospace Engineering. 

-Study ramifications.

@Steve Milford  throwing a client in your car and draggin them around to houses is so 1980  ... its simply not done anymore.. at least I don't know anyone who would do that.you give out the info.. they study on line they do a drive by if interested they call you to make an offer and if its investment property don't even need to get inside.. just get it tied up then do your due diligence like we all do.. those who think they have to get inside and walk around and think about it for a few days well those are folks that are going to miss deal after deal. 

I recently discovered that the tenants on the lease were no longer living in the unit.

What did your wife study while she was there?