Not to steal Steve's thunder on this matter but in general @Randi Del Gatto there are some defects in this asset which act as barriers to enforcing the instrument used which was a Contract For Deed not simply a Mortgage or Deed of Trust.  

As this is a distressed property, we understand that this makes sense and I guess we aren't paying him to Snake the sewer lines to get everything out.

Snakes are everywhere to scam the money out of our pockets.

I have heard, however, of running another line inside of that water line almost like a snake would and doing the line that way, however, that may just be the sewage line out of the house and not the water line into the house.  

They do well but it's not for the average person.I have met flippers who crush it Thunder bay also.The issue with those areas is that it's much more difficult to turn a profit, in say Hamilton or Kitchener, you could of overpaid for a terrible property 3-4 years ago and with the high appreciation we have seen you now look like a genius.

The bathtub drain was clogged, I snaked it out a couple times and got it draining again.  

Most of these are snake oil salesmen.  

I'm handy, but I gladly pay $75 to a plumber whenever the main sewer line is clogged and they need to run a snake. 

Could you save money cleaning between tenants, snaking toilets, or posting notices about noise violations?

Not that anyone on BP would knowingly take advantage of a new investor, but there are those in the industry that would. For those experienced investors out there, are there any signs or clues to look out for? I believ...