Wow; that is truly a sad and frustrating story.
After I posted that story, I did some digging. (I’d moved away before finding out what happened to the guy’s investment.)
Turns out, the guy had bought that house for only $21,000. He did finish fixing it up, and he rented out the apartments for 20 years. Then he sold the property for half a million.
So, everything turned out well for him. :-)