What I did see was a water damaged spot/couldn't get close enough to see if it was wet, where the back porch balcony is.

So your 12k won't get you into a 4 plex in Torrance but you could do some damage in many markets throughout the U.S.You won't get the perfect 75 degree  sunny weather or the great Japanese food you can find in Torrance and Gardena area.

For instance, they all things being equal, but one 'bad' tenant is damaging the unit.

Hi All,Last week there was a leak from my heater pipe to the condo unit owner below me causing water damage to their ceiling and walls.

I buy middle of the road bath/surrounds that don't require caulking because they look nice AND are much less prone to leak and cause water damage.

I then filed and payed for the cook count sherifs to get her out, which they did and I put all her stuff on the front lawn.They immediately got a Uhaul and loaded up most of their possessions and left a few thing.Now two years later she is suing me for an Illegal eviction, loss or damage to her property and pain and suffering in  the amount of 10k !!!!!  

Hardieboard can add a lot of weights and also be hard on old studs that may have suffered water damage. 

Luckily it only left minor damage but because it was raining so hard water had absorbed into the drywall ceiling of the tenants living room.

I also have this sentence:  In addition to forfeiture of earnest money to Seller or return of earnest money to Buyer, Buyer and Seller shall both have the option of enforcing specific performance of this contract or any other remedy allowed by law or equity.Does this mean that I can still be forced to buy or pay other damages after forfeiting my earnest money if the deal falls through?

Consider the liabilities that you are accepting as his employer..... driving around while on the clock, drunk, hits somebody...... gets hurt on the job, giant increase in WC premium for a long, long, long time...... damages products or materials during installation, guess who gets to pay for them and can't deduct them legally from his pay check...... you run out of work, he collects unemployment...These may be worst case situations, but they still exist and lets not forget incentives to being productive... hourly employees have little financial incentive to being productive, it basically comes down to a combination of a mixture fear of losing a job, how much they can get away with and of course their work ethic.What all this means is that unless there is huge gain for you somewhere beyond just a couple of thousand dollars over a year there is no way you will offset these issues, there would need to be some very large gains, possibly non-financial to warrant hiring this guy versus paying him as a 1099.