@Dustin Beam I’m near the transition point from my current career path into something else.

And they may have an investor on the deal that only cares about their interest etc etc. meaning many other reasons you may not be aware of is why they don't want the asset.if they are making a new loan to you then they will protect themselves vis a vi title insurance.. they will open escrow with subsequent title  assurances.. just make sure you check that out.. or have a good RE agent look at it .. and if your really unsure have a RE lawyer give it a once over.. it should be fairly straight forward though.

Seems like you're on the same path and that's awesome!

Straight forward and normal business practice as a landlord. 

Check out: https://www.illinoisrealtors.org/education/real-estate-license-illinois/I found the material pretty straight forward. 

Definitely fix the lighting, that seems easiest and path of least resistance.I would definitely make sure your tenants are locking the units and keeping the vacant units secure (since the lot is not secure)

Check them out and maybe our paths will cross at one of them.  

I am currently between jobs but I am forging my path to a new future. 

That way you gain experience and then you can have a better idea which path you want to take.

The newer seismic codes are overkill, IMO, as many have been lobbied for hard by Simpson; there are many homes on the sides of hills in LA from the 60’s that have no seismic retrofitting and are still standing.Before going too far down the path of retrofitting your CMU building I would make sure that it isn’t already filled with rebar and mortar, as well as bond beams.