Unfortunately this is a long distance rental so we broke rule #1 of being a landlord and depended on a 3rd party to provide us with updates on the property's condition.

Rates are going up but I think it depends on what your strategy is and your family member's long term strategy. 

Depending on your needs, maybe an awesome Escrow Officer can help you, like me?

you should push closing until that unit is vacant. if you take over and have to evict, it could cost you a significant amount depending on your state

It changed over time to something that worked for me and I made different versions of it depending on whether I was looking to flip or make a rental.

Do most end buyers require a home inspection before purchase or does it depend on the end buyer? 

It is still in DD and I can still walk away depending on what price they are willing to come down to.

Caveat...all depends on what you know but with the 50% rule showing negative, the need for you to dump 72,000 in it,  and your optimistic outlook only showing 6%, i'd park my money somewhere else and look for something better.  

In my opinion,  it could be a good choice, depending on your situation.

Depending on the deal we may need partner with my parents who are very interested since we have done so well with the first one.