this information im giving you pertains to removing someone from a property. first let me tell you its gonna me a painful headache.Having to pay your tenant money to leave it may hurt, but its often the your best option. you might have to pay more than youd like to speed the process up.You cannot make people do something that they feel isnt in their best interest,even if they are morally wrong. you can also find the tenant a new place to live using your property manager.Also you can offer to pay a small percent of their rent the first year.basically you want to make it as easy as possible for them to get out, maybe pay movers to move all their belongings as well. you dont have to do all these things try a few if not combine them all and see what works. best of luck!

Getting a home equity loan (HELOC) may be difficult if you have less than 30-40 percent equity, especially if the duplex is titled in an LLC.

If you can get a private loan from someone you know or meet, that's our favorite way (we usually pay 8-9% percent interest-only with no points).

Have a vent cleaner look at it.https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prev...Clothes dryer fire safety outreach materialsFacts about home clothes dryer fires2,900 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in property loss.Failure to clean the dryer (34 percent) is the leading cause of home clothes dryer fires.More home clothes dryer fires occur in the fall and winter months, peaking in January.To learn more about the causes and incidence of home clothes dryer fires, download our free report Clothes Dryer Fires in Residential Buildings 2008-2010 PDF 612 Kb.

Owner had fixed the damage in 2014 and installed sump pump with lifetime warranty.

HUD defines an "affordable dwelling" as one that a household can obtain for 30 percent or less of its income.

Now, even NAR recently put out a statistic where some 50%+ percent of all transactions are being done by agents who just do I think it was 3 to 6 transactions a year. 

Any combo of older home, severe disrepair or anything over 3k sf is easily 200k+ up to 300k in an extreme example and given the time and effort and risk of cost overun unless its some amazing spread of a life time i usually stay away from.

You can do it purely by the numbers, but for example, if you buy in dregs of Baltimore, your numbers might hit the 2 percent rule on papers, but every time you turn the apartment, it can be a full overhaul.Joe

I intend to pay off the mortgage/or whatever loan we owe with the rental income, thereafter I hope it will provide some additional income to my parents if we manage to pay it off within their lifetime or just sell it.