With them out you have gotten ahead of the game and you can focus on fixing up the unit and re-renting. 

If you are ahead of the game the better.  

"(3) Should you go ahead wit the deal, get QC from owner by requesting him/her to FedEx the original deed as without it a LP will have to draft a new one, which will cos you around $300.  

And is it still smarter to use the nicer materials and go ahead and make the kitchens a bit nicer with new cabinets rather than salvaging the existing cabinets?

Please tell me you're sharing this because it's an EXCEPTIONALLY great deal, because I'm in the same area just starting out and if that's a standard deal I've got a long road ahead of me.

In November 2014, 987 homes sold at a median price of $222,067.Year-to-date data shows that sales volume is 14% ahead of where it was last year, with 14,758 sales through November 2015 and the regional median price has increased by 5.3%, currently $228,000.

I have found that the things that keeping me going forward in real estate, my spiritual life, family life, etc. is that I am continually feeding my mind with the things that grow me.  

Don't fear a downturn ... if you are prepared, a downturn can be your best friend.Understand ahead of time how different asset classes behave in different parts of the market cycle.

Go ahead and make it an insured transaction with owners policy so that you know about anything else attaching to the property, the correct outstanding balance, etc. 

Thank you ahead of time for any help!