Dealing with nightmare sellers, including a dog left unattended for days, a break-in, and hidden foundation issues sounds like a real challenge.

Subsequently, we discovered multiple leaks in the roof, resulting in water damage, including mold growth in our closet.

If you say no, they will break the lease anyways and go.

We have at least 2 rehabs under our belt but this house needs literally everything including some foundational repairs.  

My in laws lost their entire retirement savings because their underwriting was too aggressive and they bought several properties most of which ended up with negative cash flow.I am not against refinancing or using a HELOC to buy a property, but The market right now is a property will give you close to zero cash flow (80% down) then you’ll need to come up with another $750 a month to pay down the HELOC and come up with probably another 5-10k in reserves in case the furnace breaks or tenants trash your house or…   Without knowing your financially situation, You are probably better off getting a second job for a year or two to save up for a downpayment then using a Heloc.

People who don't own dogs casually call about a dozen different breeds "pitbulls," including some boxer mixes.

I am including an itemized list of repairs next page.Thanks,Dear [Tenant],This letter is regarding your security deposit of $X for the property located at [address] for the lease period of Jan 2023 - 2024.I am deducting $X from the security deposit for charges listed in the Resident Responsible Charges document.

@Yasmin Sharbaf if it’s not new construction, your agent would usually have shown you current tax records including what they list as square footage, especially if that was a known concern of yours.

Give them a break lol, they have had a lot in these past 2 weeks. 

You may not include income earned that is not on a tax return, an administrator or PHA may consider additional income in that household, a teenager may mow lawns or receive child support that may influence funds available to that household.