But when heavy rains hit Southern California in April 2020, crashes shot back up.

I am convinced that a such a problem and the   flow backups that must have are  occurre previously are NOT something that happens spontaneously. 

Why are they just sitting un-fixed-up while Single family homes get the bulk of the attention.Any input on this is appreciated.Also, I did a quick mock-up of one I found online--it would definitely be a lot of work to get that many units back up and rented.It looks like 30 or so units.

It's always good to have a written signed agreement to back up any verbal agreements when it comes to renting.

Find ways to minimize the risks of theft, vandalism, and squatting.5) Have backup plans B, C, and D....maybe E would be good too.6) Only buy stuff that you understand.7) Education is important, but how much money you spend on education is only marginally correlated to it's value. 

I still have it today and it provides great income.For your first question, let's back up here.Your depreciable basis is based on what you actually paid for the property; it's the purchase property plus or minus some items on the closing statement as well as any costs you paid outside of escrow that you can include in your basis.That number is completely independent of what the tax assessor says or what the appraiser says.When people say to use the assessed value, they're referring to the allocation between land and building.I think you get this but just want to make sure.Now, you don't have to use the assessor's allocation if you can come up with some other reasonable allocation.In my view, using the appraiser's allocation is reasonable. 

RE-listing a property is always a pain, so it would depend on if they have any signed backup offers or not.  

And of course if I scare them off immediately I will have the added initial costs of the tenant turnover and getting each unit back up to rent ready standards after they move out, new tenant placement costs, etc.Has anyone else inherited tenants on only a verbal lease with no paid security deposit etc?  

They came with armed Los Angeles Police Department backup, an L.A.

If every turn over leads to several grand in rehab to bring homes back up to sellable standards, it could eat into profitability for a long time.