Shortly, prior to closing a Notice of Sale is recorded which alerts everybody that a transfer is about to take place which stop/prevents/alerts nobody else to try to affect the Title chain (I forget the exact mechanism for this). 

@Jennifer Cropper It’s a two party check that must be signed by both of you….what prevents you from depositing it into Your account?

That wouldn’t necessarily prevent the seller from going under contract/escrow with another buyer….since there is no  longer any contractual obligations to sell to you, the release of the EM is a separate issue.  

I don't see anything unusual about that door that would prevent them from repairing it.

Also, sounds like the seller's forgot to disclose a 3 year lease, which really prevents anyone from using the property for their own purposes, so that's pretty material.

Any suggestions on how this might be prevented or deterred?

-Preventative maintenance plan-scripts...

I have now written a letter to the smoking neighbor (who is the owner of the below unit, not a tenant) and forwarded the tenant’s letter to the HOA, pointing out the clause in the bylaws preventing any "noxious or offensive trade or activity" (there doesn't seem to be anything specific to smoking, but I think this clearly covers it). 

Before levying any kind of penalty on the tenant, you'll want to know if Houston (assuming that's where the property is located) has implemented any type of watering restrictions that has prevented the tenant from watering the lawn.For example, in San Antonio we've been under Stage 2 water restrictions since April, which limits residents to watering their lawn only once per week using an irrigation system/sprinklers, and only at specified hours on that one day per week.There's even some discussion about San Antonio possibly moving to Stage 3 water restrictions, which limits watering even further to once every 14 days.

If you must flip in a flood zone here are some things you should do/know1) Find out where in the flood zone the property is located and the last time it flooded2) Ask the seller for the elevation certificate and see in any preventative work has been done to stop flooding or reduce the insurance rate 3) Review your ARV number, make sure its extremely conservative as the flood zone will probably result in a lower than average price (also make sure the comps you run are in the same flood zone if possible)4) If you take on the flip make sure you provide extra info about the status of the flood insurance and provide written flood insurance quotes for potential buyers5) Water proof the home if it makes sense to6) Host open houses often, don't trust agents to break down flood insurance and the risks associated to potential buyers, it won't happen.Those few steps should help, know your numbers and if they don't make sense don't be afraid to pass on this one, remember no deal is better than a bad deal.