I'm calling my agent now.. and reporting the situation.. had I not met the tenant last night in the driveway by chance, I honestly don't know how I would have found out what happened.

I normally say when you find a deal with the right numbers, positive cash flow.However I believe the market is at a peek, with the economy and politics as they are now pointing toward inflation and rising interest rates if you have cash to invest you may want to wait awhile, there is a good chance the markets will turn in the next two years and the vultures will feast.

So, I do not chance it and just do the 4 (actually 3, I do not do the lock fee).

If I go ahead with finding/purchasing a duplex in the next few months, will it affect my chances of approval for the car loan by the end of the year?

This may be your chance to downsize permanently with only rent and no responsibilities or to use as a vacation home and live in and around the predominance of multi million dollar MANSIONS.

But if you can read people and feel in your gut that you are making the right decision, give people a chance.

@Chance Housos Thanks for that advice!

You can check your state landlord tenant laws,, but if you choose to remove the unit from rental availability you then would have no course of action to recover lost rent up to the date you stop advertising that it is for rent..You can't just choose a length of time you think they should be responsible for if you take the property off the rental market.So your chances of getting a dime from them is like POOF.. not much.

Sure, it's a stretch, but the more motivated they are, the better you can create a relationship, the more your chances improve.  

I'm going to be diving into real estate within the next year and want to know where I should look to buy so that I have the greatest chance at success!