You will be relieved once you add this.As far as fresh water, or hot water plumbing other than leaving faucets on low drip in really cold weather it's a gamble.. 

Plus investing so much and not knowing the result, for me that's gambling your hard earned money.

If your agent says "they exist but you're sitting in Manila and you really don't want to own in those parts of Chicago" then I'd say you have someone that's trying their best to give you authentic advice tailored to you.Or I'm completely wrong, I don't know...

Gamble or Investment?

California is a highly cyclical Market and definitely not one I would gamble in.

But, I know plenty of people who would rather get a set rate of return this time of year vs. gambling with a new president.

Flipping properties is inherently more risky and can often times be closely compared to gambling.

As a general rule , relying on uncertainty of timing, high risk etc , I feel, is more speculating , which is just a fancy word for gambling.  

I'm not gambling.

Either way ( up or down) this is shaping up to be interesting indeed.http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/a-downtown-condo-gamble/article_6a3b2ffe-97ad-11e5-a02e-17abc4cffc7c.html