Overall unit sales have decreased in the Bay Area because of lack of inventory but price per sq ft is still on the rise!

Naturally your mother should have noticed a smaller (if non existent) monthly rent roll, if rents did decrease, and they were still taking money for that escrow.

iv'e walked in houses that are out of level ( in a hall way ) by at least 2" , i didn't buy that one, but that you can feel, as you lean against the wall walking down the hall way - just kidding. what you need to do is find out the cost to repair it and determine is it worth putting say $8,000 towards something that may only decrease the value by $5000 in some buyers eyes or by the appraiser.

If approximately 25 units (47% of 53 units) are vacant simply because of a need of updating, immediately after purchase, why not immediately decrease the rent on say 15 of the 25 vacant units by an amount (e.g. 10%) to increase your short-term cash flow by enticing tenants to overlook some of the required renovations for a slightly lower rent. 

@David Hayman, I'm not an accountant, so you should talk with a local professional, but if depreciation and other expenses cause your rental property to have a loss, then you can use that to decrease taxes on W2 income IF your income is below a threshold (it starts phasing out over $100K in income I believe).

We could also put labor into buy and hold properties, decreasing repair/rehab costs.

If you hold onto the shares for 25 years, the value will increase and decrease, but ultimately as the stock market has proven over time, it always goes up. 

For instance say a properties premium is $3000 and the percent you are bidding starts at 30% you would comete with the other bidders by decreasing your percent.

In his building in Mayaguez he has 2 vacancies for the first time in over 8 years and he has been steadily decreasing rent prices for the past 3 years in order to keep the other units occupied. 

My crystal ball agrees with the 2 to 3 year window of appreciation but at a decreasing rate.