I would try to not finance the down payment: you'll be 100% leveraged. 

I tried emailing and also calling (left message in voice mail since) the county treasurer to ask for the process for obtaining the deed, but no response. 

@Susan Owen Try to distance yourself from what has happened previously and just look at what you have in front of you now.

Sounds like he's trying to rip you off. 

My friend who works at a small bank heard about a house they were trying to get rid of and got me in contact with his boss.

Greetings everyone,My boss and I have a small business that we're trying to get off the ground and we're looking into outsourcing some or all of our accounting/bookkeeping duties.  

My friend who works at a small bank heard about a house they were trying to get rid of and got me in contact with his boss.

We renovated this tenant’s unit early in our ownership to try to eliminate some of the issues but unfortunately when someone is just a problem being helpful doesn’t seem to work.

"Terminate on Sale" clauses are rarely allowed by the courts with residential leases.The good news is, many tenants don't know this.So, we always politely ask tenants to sign our lease, ask if they want to extend them and try to reasonably increase the rent.We don't recommend abusing this with strong-arm tactics.

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