Not a big concern of mine as long as they dont damage the property and pay rent on time. 

You spend hours or days looking at floor plans, checking out the neighborhood, and driving by to see if there are any other houses on the block that look like they're in worse shape than this one.

I want to take the plunge but have mental/knowledge blocks and once I can get some answers from folks who have done it, I know it’ll happen.For context I’m an attorney and have worked mostly with Real Estate PE clients so the field and lingo is not foreign to me but doing it myself is very different.

The property has been rented for nearly this entire time.The house has a good amount of deferred maintenance, is not updated, and has some water damage which we only recently (two weeks ago) became aware of.

For Fire damage, smoke damage, black water, broken pipes and other disaster clean ups we recommend Jim Seubert @ Pride Cleaning and Restoration 618-792-0465.

always look for any type of fire damage, I discovered some later after I bought it.

Worst house on the block in a great neighborhood.

There is also plenty of risk with outstanding liens, damages, property conditions etc.

Let's suppose it damages the flooring/rug in the common area, is the property owner going to be stuck with the damages, or the tenant who dropped it? 

Especially in a place like NC where hurricanes and lots of rain can do a lot of damage to a roof in one year.