The landlord tenant regulations and tenant friendly legislation is the root cause.

Other than the problems I knew and was comfortable with (including retaining wall, plumbing, electrical and other TLC work etc.), I found out that the house has sunk 2-3 inches in one corner (mainly due to poor drainage and that retaining wall giving up... both linked).  

Im looking for the plumbing, construction, and permits I guess. 

We did an extensive rehab - electrical, plumbing, heating/cooling, roof and more.

It requires careful planning and strict adherence to a number of rules and regulations, but if you do it right, you get lifelong rental income for you, free equity for your kids, and no taxes.

I live 40 miles away, so I called the owner of the biggest plumbing co in the city and he and 2 techs drpped everything to get to the property within 10 minutes of my call.I had put a garage outdoor access remote on the outside of the house.. they couldn't get in thru that because THE POWER WAS NOW OFF.Luckily i had put a coded door knob on the kitchen door that opens to the deck-- i gave them the code and they were inside instantly.The water heater was STILL SPEWING WATER full blast in a stream so strong it was hitting the second story ceiling and hitting the ELECTRICAL PANEL also located in the garage and that's what had knocked out the power .The plumbers immediately turned off the inside water main cutoffand sent me photos of the EMERGENCY SITUATION the pm so calmly let me know about by email an hour earlier.i fired the pm co that instant and got on the phone to start farm (my rental policy ins co) whiledriving an hour to the property.i also called the city's best WATER EMERGENCY REMEDIATION COMpany while en route.When i got there, the water was turned off ( finally)the drywall ceiling had fallen in, the light fixtures destroyed, the garage door open case was HALF FULL OF WATER and there were 1000s of mold blooms on every surface and hundreds of stacks of spiky growing black mold (looked like iron fiilings we used to play with in that game we all had as kids where u use a magnet and drag the iron filings around to put hair and a mustache on the bald guy cartoon photo) the mold spikes were 1.5" tall on the woot railings and stairs going into the house, on all of my beautiful built in wooden garage shelves--- what a mess-- like the streets of Beirut after the bombs went offand I don't have allergies -- but i could not even STAND inside the garage because the WET MOLD MILDEW SMELL was so strong it instantly gagged me and gave me a headache and i couldn't breathe.So here Ewe are on Jan 17 and now i know that the BEST rental dwelling policy dies NOT COVER MOLD REMEDIATION AT ALL ( so far $14,000) but it does cover water damage with a $2500 deductible...

Now that you have decided to invest in rental income properties, and by doing so started a business, why have you not taken the time to sit down and learn the regulations that govern your business.Many landlord/investors come on Biggerpockets and post the most basic questions regarding tenants and landlords situations without ever bothering to learn the state codes.Why would anyone start a business or invest without taking the time to learn their rights and the rights of the tenants they are responsible for. 

More money in your pocket on deals you do.Cons-Many more phone calls from BS marketing firms trying to sell you something.More regulation.

He's almost finished gutting it and is planning on porting in the insulation, new water heaters and rewiring the electric and putting in new plumbing.

@Sarah Hale  Pre foreclosures on the West coast are regulated by State law... folks can't just willy nilly approach people.. like you can in Texas.