The idea is to discourage the small-landlord's practice of nonrenewing leases due to personality conflicts, whether you find the tenant likeable enough, etc.

"Blocking the market" only occurs in the commerical insurance world - not personal lines.2.

This makes it easier to count on the income for your personal budgeting.

If you find one who has rental properties and has first hand experience that can be VERY helpful.The conflict of interest is a common question, but really a non-issue if you consider the size of the market and how many properties an agent can buy.My team and I work with a lot of investors and yes I personally buy a handful of properties every year, but there are about 30,000 transactions every year in Milwaukee.

The seller did just perform quite a few renovations, and two units are already occupied, which is why the upfront rehab is currently $0.So yes, this scenario doesn't yield much monthly cash flow, but we are trying to work with little money down so the thought was that it would at least get us into the property and then increase cash flow once the $46K loan is paid off.

Just recognize that you will have lower payments but that money will be illiquid so your personal financials also come into play

If you can't see the property in person, pay an experienced local investor $100 or so (someone unbiased, not your agent or turnkey company) to walk it and do a detailed video tour. 

There is a whole thread started by an investor who publicly shares his crowdfunding deals using a Gsheet, here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/520/topics/294382-i-put-2-million-into-20-crowd-fund-deals-posting-performance?

talk to the dept of health first (records requirements etc), establish what upgrades/maintenance required, line up a reliable repair/handyman/type person, consult lawyer, and then make your offer, see if you can buy the land it's on via lot line adjustment (ideal scenario). a lot to be aware of, such as system upgrades or county code changes bringing in the requirement to add metered connections to an older small system, for just one example.Otherwise- owner doesn't want to manage, I doubt you really do either but could be wrong. 

Is suing for specific performance the way to go?