While a completely free market without any control of interest rates or money supply might be good in theory, in reality it doesn't merge well into an organized society that relies on government for other things like safety, security and protection from corruption (let's not argue over whether that's a good thing or bad thing :).Those who come down on the Keynesian side think there should be more; those on the Austrian side think there should be less. 

They seem to look at life safety and quality issues but I have never dealt with this specifically.  

I would not prioritize the 12 months of "guaranteed" rent.

My guess is that the realtor is not prioritizing the property.

I would generally recommend gutting the electrical system for safety sake. 

Tenant's safety is at risk and so is tenant's financial investment in occupying the property.

If you borrow $290,000 at 12% interest - that means your interest payments is $3,900/month or $52,200 for those 18 monthsYour "all-in" costs will be about $342,200 which is around 72% of the proforma value.In other words, you will have a margin of safety on this deal of only 28%.The deals I do today have a margin of safety of around 30-40% and they cashflow on day 1.My vote is NO DEAL.

My career has been in various businesses, and several roles in management.The analytical skills honed in system design and analysis have helped greatly in deal analysis, market segmentation, and building analysis tools and knowing how to leverage technology.The management roles have helped greatly with people skills, patience, long-term planning, business concepts, financial planning, organization, prioritization, and learning how to relate to people at different levels of an organization and in society.

Do your best to build cash reserves as a safety net. 

If you're one of the millions of Americans, not just DR fans, who have drank the koolaid of the financial services industry and invested into the "safety" of mutual funds, I apologize, I don't relish being the bearer of bad news.