All this was easier too because I was an owner occupant of one unit and rented the other 3.

or don't even worry about renting it out?

An eviction lawsuit is filed by the landlord to remove tenants and their personal properties from the rented property.

I would live there while fixing it up then renting it out in a year. 

Regardless of the reasons, generally, the lease holds the tenant liable for the remaining rent until the lease agreement expires.

But as the previous owners didn’t pay their mortgage how likely are they to pay the rent? 

Main things I obviously am looking to figure out are:1. is it easy to get places rented out there or is there not much demand, 2. how have rent increases been over the last 10ish years in the area, 3. is this area generally somewhere that’s likely to see some good appreciation4. any serious crime concerns, or anything else I’m not thinking of!

It is a townhouse and the adjacent property (that previously had an identical interior layout and size) has gone through a renovation to expand the kitchen by approximately 100 sqft, and add a second bathroom.This adjacent property is currently renting for $300-400 more than what I believe I can rent my property for.

You can rent that out as well on months your not there and ultimately refinance down the road to pull cash out and transition into a full time LTR or short term rental VRBO to make more money.

Interest income is treated the same as rent income for example.One other tip, we make sure to keep the MMA account balances at $250,000 or below to maintain FDIC insurance limits.