Naturally, the tenants were evicted after four months at our expense and I am now repairing the house.

Anything that appears to be a health or safety hazard on a potential property needs to be repaired BEFORE  it qualifies for financing.2, sellers usually are willing to make/pay for minor repairs such as chipped/peeling paint, cracked windows, exposed wood or things of that nature.

I am myself trying to break into the commercial space, but being new and a business owner, need alternatives lenders and ways to purchase property.Allied Commercial FundingPrime Commercial FundingThank you!

If you're looking for a firm that specializes in real estate, the only alternative that I know of is Richey May down in the Denver Tech Center.

Part of that was the market naturally.

Nothing huge, but still positive.I would then purchase another home but would need to downsize quite a bit, which I am not super worried about.Option 2:Sell the Oakland houseBuy another primary residence (reaping the tax benefits, naturally) spending about the same as in Option 1Buy a different investment propertyWe have a slightly bad situation with the neighbor and although I don't think they would turn out to be a problem with renters, there's a part of me that doesn't want to keep dealing with the neighbors if I don't have to.Thoughts?

I have spent $50,0000 upgrading the home to current, high level finishes, addressed any noted safety concerns by my licensed electrician,  and they signed for home accepting as is.The email was aggressive in nature with no real actionable items or specific concerns other than "GRAVE DANGER". 

An alternative to door knocking that I've seen others have success with is to leave a post it on the door with a simple message like "I want to buy your house.  

Alternatively rent in this area is about 3k.

However, I wanted to get opinions on painting brick vs leaving it natural in terms of resale value down the line, because there is no going back from painting brick.