I say that no XX year old house is perfect and I will get any health and safety issues addressed but we need to be reasonable, we are not buying a new home.

Dealing with insurance and repairs is secondary to the wellbeing of your tenants and neighbors.Once you've confirmed everyone's safety, it's important to document everything thoroughly.

Safety comes in numbers.

It's been a great market for me.Things to consider when choosing a market; population growth (you don't want a stagnate or declining population), crime/safety (high crime usually means more unqualified tenants and will diminish property value), state property taxes, tenant/landlord laws. 

To arm you with a little more knowledge, the average 5-year rate of appreciation for Tampa is 9.2%, while the average 5-year rate of appreciation for Orlando is a little lower, at 8.56% That said, Orlando is a tourist hub, so my advice would be if you're looking for something short-term (AirBNB), finding a place in Orlando around the attractions could be the way to go, but if you're looking for a more long-term investment, Tampa may be your best bet.

I have asked, begged and yelled about the safety situation and he just doesn’t care.

Once the buyer and seller agree on this scheme it's no longer an arms-length sale.

(I just won’t own a property where there is an existing safety issue I can’t fix).

If you win a bid, you are inheriting an expensive headache, a safety concern, and a tax liability. 

This is really an accountant question as to how you can structure to use your RRSP's as an investment with it still being arm's length away so that you do not get taxed on it until it is used for the purchase at the end of the rent to own period.Best Wishes