She has broken the rules by allowing him to live in your unit, even though his behavior is poor.

But what I'm pondering is what about you poor guys in the middle who can take a calculated risk and even if the s**t hits the fan you can ride it out long enough to break even or get a profit.

I just cringe when I see these people pop on BP " Hey I want to learn to buy NPN"  granted folks have to start somewhere but NPN is a poor starting point.As you state.. so many of these homes will be totally stripped  .. of course some are probably lay downs but.. in my mind unless you have MULTI millions to do this with and can scale and have a very compentant group.. its not a great starter type investment

Help her understand you want to be a responsible landlord and will be making quarterly fire/safety inspections inside and out to make certain that security and health items are looking in good repair and clean to protect her.

There is no easy way to keep rents at market and poor tenant management can easily bankrupt a investor.

I'm in the process of purchasing my next foreclosure and the bank called to inform me that they have to stop working on my loan because the appraisal came back stating the property did not meet C4 conditions and mentioned the place was in habitable due to poor floor covering(stained rugs loose tiles), holes in walls, urine smells and broken window panes.

Again, it is disappointing to hear that you're getting such poor performance from a key member of your staff.

Tell her to read, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T.

It depends on the location, the age & condition of the structure and it's components, weather there are liens on the land records, if there has been work performed without the required permits & inspection approvals, are there zoning or health department issues, are there open code enforcement cases where violations have been cited, are there fines running, and if you are will take responsibility for that type of a project.

Chimney repairs could be more expensive than upgrading the furnace, so if in poor shape you may want to abandon the chimney and go high efficiency.