If the appraisal says that there is a bunch of stuff wrong with the house, they will most likely either require that those items be corrected prior to closing (not going to happen) or deny the loan.The bank that owns the property is most likely aware of the condition of the house, and they know that a buyer with financing is going to have that problem so they will favor cash offers or offers with such high down payments that the buyer's lender might look the other way.You might try private money financing.

Getting the place rented requires that you compare favorably with the competitor units nearby; comparison based on amenities and price, as well as neighborhood and schools, and the sizes of rooms in the unit.

We've done favors for them too say when they have a minor car issues since we're gear heads and have all the tools.

Regardless of what you do many people will be sued in their lifetime for something whether it is valid or not.The best thing to do is be pro-active.Have a plan and run operations in a way that slant things in your favor if a case happens.When someone sues they tend to make many mistakes before it gets to court.Even if they have a valid or partially valid claim you can leverage their mistakes to weaken their position for a settlement before it goes to a judge.Money isn't the only thing lost in a suit.It's everyone's time to deal with it and money lost from not just the claim but focusing on money making activities as well.When an attorney sees an LLC or a corp versus an individual many will not take pro bono unless they have a slam dunk case.It will be more of a challenge with the extra layer of asset protection if you run it properly.You can create a master llc and then have a sub llc for each property etc.

From what I read federal and most, not all, state laws favor keeping company's alive especially with employees.

just a thought. i don't see why someone cannot put a 2nd on their property, in my favor, for any given amount and no reason why. jim

While most judges will be pro-buyer, my guess is that they won't rule in a buyer's favor if the default was egregious (that's been my experience as well with other investors who have gone through this process).I consider myself pretty fair with buyers -- if they're fair with me, all is good and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Be VERY GLAD the copper and electrical wasn't stripped and everything was taken out including holes in the sheet rock.That could cost you 3k or more to fix.Take pictures with date and time stamp of every room showing there is not 500 dollars of more of personal property so you that you don't have to go through the eviction process when they abandon the unit.Change the locks to all exterior doors immediately.You do not know who they gave a key too or what agreements that have made with people legal or not.I would clean it and even if you offer reduced rent to get someone in fast for the first month as long as they are a nice qualified tenant I would do it quickly.The longer the unit sits vacant the more people watch it and wait and the more chance of damage to the property that will suck away any potential cash flow after debt service for the year.Forget about the 500.You will have to file eviction and then they do not respond and the judge grants a judgement in your favor and then you have to go through all of these items to collect and it takes years if they do not file BK etc.You will spend about 100 filing eviction and 20 for the writ.Spending 120 to try and get 500 is a waste of time as you get the judgement only.If you don't do this and then try to take them to small claims court you still get a useless judgement.

You would need to contact the local board where the other agent belongs to , they would listen to the case and rule either in your favor or not.

The cap rates don't seem to be too high and to say the laws here favor the tenant is an understatement.