There's a loan product out there that will enable you to purchase a distressed product for cash, do the necessary rehab to bring in up to a habitable/lendable level, and immediately pull cash back out of the property BEFORE you sell it.  

The problem with the gurus is they teach this garbage with no care as to how a seller may be harmed. 

If there are conflicting reports, get a 3rd, no harm in it. 

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

It's not too hard to make the building habitable by adding a shower.

Based on a recent experience, I would reach out to your insurance company and find out if, worse case, the dog bites or causes harm to someone on the property, if it would be covered. 

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesEven if someone give you a referral, don’t make the mistake of assuming the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

While it was out I provided electric heaters for the tenant to use, and the unusually warm weather we've enjoyed lately, and the apartment's location surrounded by other heated apartments, meant it was still habitable during the furnace outage, albeit cooler than normal.  

But, no harm in viewing it too, right?...

Hostile policies towards development just push people to other cities to do their building.Here are some links about the harm rent control does:Beacon Economics research study on rent control - https://caanet.org/app/uploads/2016/02/Jan2016_Ren...Perspective on helping low income afford housing - http://www.lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3345Legislative Analysis suggesting housing construction rather than rent control - https://caanet.org/legislative-analysts-office-enc...