Yup, that was exactly my thought. And it sounds like the root of the issue is the rent controls - intended to protect tenants - lead in practice to an incredibl

Yup, that was exactly my thought. And it sounds like the root of the issue is the rent controls - intended to protect tenants - lead in practice to an incredibly messed-up relationship between landlord and tenants. Not mentioned in the article is whether Gideon tried to find another buyer. Given the previous owner sold the place for just $10k, he was probably desperate to get rid of it. Gideon realised he'd been the rube that bought a massive liability, and I'm guessing he found it impossible to find another buyer. (If he could have sold it, he'd have done that rather than try and burn it down).