I would base the value of the apartments on the current rents with discounts for condition.Does she have a desired monthly income from selling the building? 

Smokers are not a protected class.If you care about maintaining good landlord-tenant relationships and maintaing your property, you are likely to attract the type of tenant you desire.

There are many different ways to charge a tenant for allowing a pet: Flat additional rent per month, higher security deposit, pet admin fees, fee per pet, fee based on the weight / breed of pet, etc.We have tried several different ways and found that charging an upfront non-refundable 'pet admin' fee works best for us.

I checked out the Kakaako condos and while I'm looking for owner occupancy for the near-term, condominiums aren't really my desired market.

But a good property manager is worth his/her weight in gold.

Any title agent worth their weight in dirt should be able to answer that for you.I would focus more on finding the next of kin and getting a contract.

Expected gap funding return on this 2/1 scrape and expansion to 5/3 on a large lot in a very desired area in Atlanta is 30%+.  

If you have the time and desire to be a property manager and an owner, then the properties need to be closer.There are many places with good deals - we all run out of money before we run out of properties to buy.

I have some nice small style (light weight) used furniture that I bought off craigslist dirt cheap.

I bring drive, passion, a great work ethic and a desire to transition to REI fulltime.I realize that starting out, I will be using a HML, so I do have a modest amount of capital of my own to help get me started.