If you are a brand new investor, it may be better to hold off especially when so many additional factors are at play now, not just a simple property that you're assessing. 

If you are unfamiliar with a certain city or neighborhood, look up the crime rate on Trulia and Google the city/neighborhood name to gather more information that will help you assess whether the property is located in a decent area or in a crime zone.

They tend to have lower assessments and often already have a lot of units being used as rentals.  

How often do they assess?

@Brittany Wilkerson, Assessed owner not the same as true owner at the time of the auction, usually because of death, sale or foreclosure.

It should address who is responsible for mowing and landscaping.In our area any assessments by the city for a junky yard are the responsibility of the owner to pay, so you could wait it out for awhile.I would never expect the tenants to do lawncare for a duplex.Start with a conversation.

I'd assess them a month penalty, and just let them go.

Just make sure you stay north of Central Ave.From an appreciation perspective, I just got the property tax statement for 2020 and the house's assessment is now up 38% in the last 2 years alone.

@Ray Schumacher what difference would it make where I’m located to assess foundation cracks?

My question would be clarifying my understanding of the order about how a tenant has to serve the landlord with the declaration, and then the landlord could supposedly face fines and jailtime for continuing with the eviction.Then separately I read how courts would independently assess if the declaration actually held water.I wasnt sure if the criminal penalties are only for self-help evictions, which are already illegal, or theoretically could be applied just for filing the eviction even when i doubt the validity of the tenants declaration, even though apparently the courts are willing to look at the (civil) eviction case.This all really does feel like the legal version of the upside down in stranger things.