More importantly, he is always on time, his work is outstanding, and he is just around a great guy.

A simple call to the local code enforcement agency should be able to reveal any outstanding liens and fines.

Hope my fellow BP'ers can help, as I am having some issues. 1) given the property being sold as-is and after pulling OPRA report from the city it seems the property has several opened violations/penalties2) I tried speak to the city building department about how I can resolve these violation: " illegal basement apartment" and "no permits for additional unit built in the back of the house" - fines are in hundreds of thousands and have been outstanding for couple of yearsCan you please advise if anyone know anyone who can assist with getting these questions resolved ? 

Absolutely no felonies, evictions or outstanding housing debts.

If the tenant doesn't pay the bill by the time they send me their rent, I will deduct the repair from the rent, when they do send it to me, as I have stated in my Lease Agreement that any money received in my office will be applied to any outstanding bills first.  

That means that there are plenty of agents, property managers and a beautiful fleet of multifamily buildings.  

You should be developing strategies to get in front of owners/sellers directly.As far as who these buyers are, this entire year has seen a lot of cash move into real estate:1031's finally able to get a fair price for their relinquished propertiesFlight from the inflated stock marketRace to lock in the fleeting historically low interest ratesPeople seeking tax benefits of real estate not available in other assetsForeigners sick of the abysmal returns on treasury notesThe good news is that very few of these buyers are talking to the owner of the fourplex down the street and establishing a rapport for a property that is not on the market.Good luck.

In those cases, I make a tenant pay those outstanding collections and bring me proof of payment.  

Also, it does not sound like it, but you may run into some problems if their are any outstanding lawsuits.4) The Bay Area market has done very well these past couple of years.

Have you checked to see if there is any outstanding mortgage or other liens, taxes owed on the property that might make it unfeasible to get a good deal to buy it now?