Foundation is great but it turns out roof is leaking even thought it was done in 2011, pulled my offer and talked to the owners who said he'd do the work and will call me again, he's also going to deal with other annoying stuff (re-do all 4 electrical panels, insulate windows, insulate the roof too).If he really does all of this and does it great my next offer will have no conditions and we will go forward.

He never charged late fees they were all his "friends" fast forward 2 years and all the units have been turned over the average rent is increased by 25% bringing everything back to market.

Kind of strange no one has come forward on these properties to cash in or do something with them.

It certainly isn’t out of the ordinary and unless they gave you reason specifically to not use them then I would move forward.

Avoid impulsive decisions.Keep moving forward, even though it's rarely in a straight line.

It sounds like Johnny should take care of the tax lien, then he will be able to move forward with the purchase.

As I see it, you basically have 3 options:1 - Move forward and get the clock ticking on equity pay down using OPM.2 - Hold off, and see if the market in your area becomes more favorable to buyers (how long will that take, and how much equity would you have in the subject property if you chose option 1?)

Well fast forward about 10 years, and I am not letting the naysayers hold me back. 

Thank you for reading and looking forward to your responses.

I realize that there are many ways to do this and being a newbie to this I a am open  advice and suggestions of what makes the most sense going forward.