@Sean Graham, I recently had a tenant who was non renewed and they didn't pay last months rent so they had a deposit for their new place.I am in the process of taking them to small claims court for breach of contract where I will ask judge to also have them pay my costs to file and serve them assuming I win.If you receive a judgement and they still don't pay them you can file another form to garnish their wages.I don't intend to make garnishment a hardship so they have trouble paying rent at new place and will be open to a 12-36 month payback term, so long as I am made whole on rent and fees.This is my first time going thru the process so I am uncertain of outcome, although I have a paper trail for rents paid and unpaid, and texts from them admitting they were not going to pay.Here is a helpful link.http://www.ag.state.il.us/consumers/smlclaims.htmlBest,Ashley

I was well aware that water would pool in spots after heavy rains and even told my tenant to be cautious of it and let me know if it became a bigger problem, and it did.

There are tons of variables involved, so use your best judgement.

That basement has some moisture problems and we don't have many basements here in TX but my guess is the drainage system around the foundation is not working and when it rains the water sinks down and can't be moved away.

Ask your agent to help you view the interior of the units to make your own judgement.

Am I incorrect in my judgement.

My next question is since all tax sales are final and you assume all judgements and liens,  is there some way to check if a property has a clean title without paying for a full on title search. 

The day before the closing date (May 30th) I was told that the buyer's financing could not be approved for the FHA loan due to a judgement on his credit.

It's a value judgement. 

I do have a couple collections from over 3 years ago but no judgement, liens or bankruptcies.