Shirley,You only know enough to be dangerous.

Especially if your going to fix and flip to try and do that from out of state is pretty tough and very dangerous in my mind..

Skipping these steps because you have a good feeling about the tenant and/or you really could use the money is dangerous and could be costly.I've had it go both ways.

Thats a good point @Chris Seveney, I attended a seminar on notes investing in my local REIA and the speaker mentioned something about the dangers of inviting on out of state notes because of tax implications.

That said I put rougher in quotes because in all the time I've lived here, I've never noticed ANY issues which I think were a public danger.

Under what circumstances would I be in danger of a "grey" area?

Any disruption that causes the asbestos to go airborne should be avoided as breathing in those particles is where the danger lies. 

If the dwelling has no mailbox and has a keyless bolting device, alarm system, or dangerous animal that prevents the landlord from entering the premises to leave the notice to vacate on the inside of the main entry door, the landlord may securely affix the notice on the outside of the main entry door"

They are located about a quarter to .5 miles away from a public park that is considered "dangerous to be there at night".

There is a lot more danger to not having a formal closing.