(I'd imagine this to be risky and time consuming)FYI: I am out of state but do have properties I can potentially list as a primary residence in CT other than my rental. 

I appreciate the feedback. if they wont close you don't lose your EM if your prepped to close and they wont.. you lose EM if you fail to perform. that's not the issue.. you do have remedies in specific performance I just point out that  SP is difficult time consuming and expensive.. these things area all great in theory and others have heard of the Theory and think hey my lawyer can beat up their lawyer but that's simply not the real world. 

VERY time consuming. 7 hours of sanding a 12 x 15 room.

That doesn't make what they are doing (or trying to do) right, and doesn't mean they won't get caught later.Going the LLC route, by selling the LLC to a buyer, circumventing the assignment of the purchase contract, is great in theory but when we run OFAC on the members of the LLC, and the members change, we cancel the contract, if we did not agree in writing in the first place that we were ok with an assignment (Which banks, on consumer real estate, are not typically ok with).Again, yeah, i know, lots of people do it.

Once you get to a point where RE is more consuming (and lucrative) than teaching, do it full time.Also, once you graduate, I would move from CA to somewhere that has reasonably priced RE. 

@Kam MillSo say you get the $800 a month from section 8. you would take $400 of that money and put it away for future events. capital expenditures for repairs and for future black swans which are events that are unpredictable and generally highly consuming of resources.Then you take the other $400 and from that you pay your mortgage and interest. then whatever is left over is your cash flow

While this would almost certainly increase ARV, it would also be a somewhat expensive and time consuming move.

I suspect if this goes to court, and you have the artifacts that show what you described, the tenant will end up paying you for his early lease termination (assuming the lease calls out that at least a month's notice is required).Unfortunately, it will consume some of your time. 

Bring your lunch, don't eat out and cook at home, drive a cheaper car, buy your clothes at a thrift shop or yard sale, make your own coffee instead of stopping for a cup, make sure you're not paying interest on consumer credit, etc etc.

However, these strategies are very time consuming and the return on investment is not satisfactory.