Currently, I am renting a place from a very good friend at below market rent in a very small town.

Starting so young is one of the best things you can do, but so is hanging out in the right groups with people that have similar goals.

I'm so sick of dumping money into this place that has underperformed so much.I'd consider a short sale, but my credit would take a hit for over seven years, and I'm likely in too good a financial state to qualify for one.

Start a new service?

@Nate J.Send me a PM as I just did a webinar online with over 15+ places to find notes online

My investments have been out of state but I'm starting to look at some local rehabs or new build projects.  

Then she threatens to burn the place down.

A tenant in place can be a good or bad thing......depending on the tenant. 

If they put up any sort of resistance, that could be a cue to start digging a little deeper and documenting a bit more thoroughly (hence the doorbell camera coverage tip I put first - installing the cameras right away and then having the new lease conversation with the tenants afterward is very easy to frame as "I'm just a new owner putting some TLC into the property and doing my due diligence on the leases/tenants"; talking to your residents first, finding out they have extra people living there who aren't on the lease, and then installing cameras around the property could set you up for a very adversarial relationship with your inherited tenants). 

Im fine waiting another month with out the increase starting in Oct.. but.