This is a health issue, an environmental issue, probably an animal control law violation.

The US is a rule of law, not the rule of man because you can't rely on the nature of fallible people.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118636043871288806.html

Jared,It would all depend on your state's laws regarding rental licenses.

It is a matter of law what each county is able to do as far "negotiating".

That tenant was able to run up a $4K-$5K gas bill (that of course she wasn't able to pay), because law prevented the gas company from turning off the gas during the winter (because the tenant had a newborn and an elderly relative staying with her).The point is I agree 100% with Mike, Rich, and the others about tenants paying their own utilities.

The person that advised me with regards to the option contract was a friend, and did not specialize in real estate law.

I need to keep it under the radar screen to avoid UBIT tax laws being re-written.Additionally it is proprietary so I need to avoid advertising the details publicly. - Ron

I find that laws always change.

I guess that makes sense and I would actually use cash on hand to fix up the place (I am estimating materials at 25k) Labor costs I will be eating since I along with my father in law would be handling the fixes.

Some of these 2-4unit properties are priced ridiculously high, and L.A has strong rent control laws so they might be asking $500,000 a duplex, but tenants might only be paying $900 or less a month each so there is no way someone can cash flow.