They ended up complaining about everything and only paid the first month's rent in full.

Should the tenant pay the full amount?

It looks like a few times they've paid a big chunk to get the balance back to zero.Also I think if I were to put about $10k into it I could get it rented for around $1100.If I keep the tenant there's around $1,500 in repairs that I would probably do but not all of it is absolutely necessary right now.So I know getting a long term tenant is usually something you hope for but if they seem to be struggling to pay rent on time and in full is it worth it?

Sure, a smaller one that would be less expensive to run for just HW, but you won't see a full $40k/year reduction in your utility costs.On the plus side, having A/C will probably be a differentiation point for your complex.

We also couldn't quickly turn the rental because we had to wait for repairs so we were also out a full month of rent since we had to cover that ourselves (and not included in the total $18k)It it were less, I would write it off as part of doing business as a landlord but $18k. 

When I was full time in Memphis I found multiple deals literally every day and flipped them mostly to other wholesalers until I had my own buyers. 

Anything else besides a briefcase full of money?

Both are full of BP members and both offer tremendous education and networking opportunities.

If the building we buy is already full, how do we get rid of the old renters so that we can rehab the units and then refinance to get our money back? 

@Melissa TaylorI would feel the full rehab and flip to be the better scenario where there's a complete makeover and little or nothing resembling the previous situation.