Later found out that the place used to be a strip club that got shut down in 2010 after a raid. 

Company shuts down and both primary earners are out of work.

Unless its 'legal' the Bldg Inspector(s) here consistently shut down the other units & levy the usual fines. 

cool i'm in a similar boat albeit here on the west coast. hopefully its not under ur own roof u come home to as thats when its at its worsts - 24/7 and obviously not worth it once they default AND/OR breach. tenants too often dont seem to realize not paying and/or not keeping any unlawful (ie, prohibited) activity at bay IS as serious as if the landlord were to suddenly, permanently shut off the water/electric/gas etc or lift the ceiling off their rental.

He's been back a couple weeks now and text yesterday to explain that the toilet had been leaking and he shut the water off to it while he was gone in case it got worse but that when he went to turn the water back on the tank cracked.

So make sure you check your local ordinances to confirm you are in compliance and don't get fines or shut down.I have a spreadsheet that I use to break down and compare properties at a glance - the BP calculator is nice, but personally I like plug in numbers for multiple properties and view them all together at one time.

He also mentioned that tenant on the top floor manages the property, and the other tenants are kind of shut-ins (and a little bit messy/dirty).   

That's a part of screening you can control in advance - don't rent to those who have been evicted.You can also call the utility company once or twice a week to see if services have been shut off.

Of course now that their 'new book of business' is solid and they are profitable, congress will probably shut it down;)

We also discovered a faulty furnace which did not pass inspection (was considered unsafe and was shut down).