It sounds to me that the judge will throw out the case when the tenant appears before the judge and claims the old owner is no longer in possession of the property.

I would take possession of property and pay them directly.

If you already possess significant investment capital, you may be able to learn how to deploy that capital for a greater risk/return reward.If you have limited knowledge of the real estate residential and multi family investment market, you should be able to acquire significant knowledge.Nobody spending $100K on a top tier MBA program expects to learn how to retire in 5, 10, or 15 years.  

County  council is trying to pass laws that allow the county to take possession of properties that are behind on fees.

POSSESSION: Possession of the property and occupancy (tenants excepted), with all keys and garage door openers, will be delivered to the Buyer when title transfers.

I'm just starting out, but I'm always learning and I take possession of my third property Dec. 1. 

A primary residence is partially a possession and partially an investment.  

I do not have a copy of the appraisal in my possession yet but can anyone shed some light on this?

I am looking for an investor-oriented real estate agent, in Houston area, who are willing to do extra work (fast and reliable to check properties for me, have the patience to go through several offers, practice an aggressive approach to help me locate good investment deals, possess great negotiation skills to get houses at the right price) for residential properties. 

Your thinking shoot the tenant did this they need to pay.. the tenant having many options ( and they do in most rental markets) and not having a whole lot of possessions and being fairly transient by nature ( ergo the term I stay at this home I don't live here common phraseology in the mid west)  they just pack up their few possessions and they leave.. especially if they have a voucher.So as you go forward unless its really bad minor repair items that are needed that are tenant caused look at those carefully first and decide do you want a vacancy that will cost you thousands or should you just pay the 100 bucks or so and fix the small item there by not losing a ( what was up to this event a good tenant) and now have a vacancy that cost you 10 to 20 times the amount of this little battle.Just another perspective and one I have learned the hard way..