I will keep this short as you appear to have plenty of work to do . . .

In reply to the question about lawsuits and liability (I am not an attorney and do not provide legal advice, consult your appropriate professional) in most cases as long as notice was posted it appears most courts have held that people can expect they are being watched/monitored and shouldn't have any reasonable expectation of privacy.

, yet I have no choice but to do just that on my next purchase closing Jan 2nd.We let go of one, and keeping the one that was open to our inspection visit, had the unit looking like we just walked into a catalog and appeared to have no issues making rent payments.The one we are letting go, gave us such a tough time at unit inspection despite being notified of this multiple times by seller’s team.I literally had to request my buyers agent to call seller agent back and ask that something be done to facilitate a thorough inspection, that “I was paying for”.About 45 minutes later, said tenant let us in and tried to play nice.By then sadly the damage had already been done and I truly have no interest in inheriting such a tenant.Long story short, yes I hate the “we have always done this, or we did this…..”

As the move out date comes closer and they appear to be struggling, consider cash for keys to help get possession.

It appears to be arbitrarily selected and basically be an obscene amount that they think people will pay else they can’t sell their house?

Their appearance has shaken up sales and rental markets and, in some neighborhoods, sparked rent increases.On Jo Ann Drive alone, American Homes 4 Rent owns seven homes, property records indicate.

Equity Trust appears to be a forerunner...anyone have any experience with this company or can recommend another?

There is no way to know the extent of the sewer issues, as the scope could only go a small distance into the pipe.For a comparison , a nicer 2-family on the same street went for $144K, but it had garages and appeared maintained.Thoughts?  

I'm a first-time investor, purchasing a foreclosure, and I'm concerned that if I back out of this contract, I may not get my earnest money, even though it appears the seller (the bank) has done illegal things. 

Reading between the lines and on your profile, it appears that you're new to the business which eliminates the BEST option here:  hire someone unqualified and train them.If you're looking for someone that's truly qualified, you'll find that they aren't willing to take the comp mentioned in this thread - whether it's 3% or some hourly rate plus expenses.