Welcome to BP great to have you with us sometimes earned income can be a quite a disappointment.

I called the local Sherwin-Williams and they have a product for reduced permeability called Resilience but it appears to only be for exterior use. 

Now as far as your "contact", do you offer them a reduced rent or other type of reward for being the one that has to collect the rents?

You stated you expected a commission...and that is what agents earn.

Another notable point is that the owner now owns the deed free and clear so there is no outstanding mortgage obligation to her.The last thing is that the building had been on the market for over a year and was originally listed for 149K and she has been methodically reducing the list price by 10K every 3 months.  

If tenants see that you mean it, they might realize that an eviction on their record will reduce the chance for further tenancy therefore it is better for them to fulfill the contract.

That reduces the competition.

It's hard finding deals on the MLS these days, and relying on a single agent for deal flow dramatically reduces your likelihood of success.    

@Matthew Spiers If you don't have 2 yrs of consistent earnings then its not going to be possible to get a conventional confirming loan.

The thing I'm most sure of is that if we can envision it we can plan for it and therefore reduce the risks.