Cosmetic needs are acceptable but structural and safety hazards will prevent a bank lending.

That and having stressful full time jobs have prevented us from fully looking at the situation, however, this has now my complete and full attention.The down payment shown is not the original down payment, it's how it stands now, I wanted to show the current loan balance and equity somehow.

That and having stressful full time jobs have prevented us from fully looking at the situation, however, this has now my complete and full attention. 

Generally though, I break it down into the "five pillars" of protecting your assets.The first pillar is avoiding unnecessary and risky activities (don't drink and drive, insurance generally won’t cover your poor decisions) and take good care of your investments(maintain your property, etc) - these simple steps will help you prevent lawsuits before they even occur.

I was more just looking to see how successful or not successful people have been implementing it.

Additionally installing the above pipe will not prevent water from dropping down through the deck.

Was there anything that prevented you from pursuing other properties later on? 

A realtor can walk you through the process and prevent you from making costly mistakes.Like I said, it is your choice.

Use a good service like Cozy.Cash for keys is to get out a tenant who otherwise could be evicted,  to save you time and court costs and HOPEFULLY prevent intentional damage.  

You can sue for non performance and in our state you can file a Lis Pendens preventing the seller from selling.