Even the LADWP is a pain to deal with and anything electric can linger for months if not years in this cityFor that reason, i would recommend to absolutely avoid any interaction with the city unless you do really heavy work that would have significant impact on the appraisal like maybe adding bedrooms and bathrooms or adding lots of square feetThe current system doesn't reward doing the things by the book; you actually will be way ahead doing things on your own and just comply if you get an order to comply one day (very unlikely anyway).

You have to think creatively in terms of what type of skills you have and what are the needs/pain points of a MFH investor/syndicator.

That’s a psychological barrier, not really a relevant factor but we’ll see how people react.

So find out what the Lender wants and give it to 'em - It's less painful that way!

I know it can be a pain to send this to people but it helps to have a good lender review your personal tax returns, business tax returns and K-1 in depth.

Is it appropriate to call the seller and try to get information/details/pain points directly from him, or go through the standard channel of the listing realtor?

I know the pain of going through the Best and Final rounds, certainly is stressful.

I guess it worked for me, but I am getting to a point where I dont think I can afford another property with a negative cash flow...Thinking of selling my house and may use that 200K to buy something smaller in my neighborhood...Or can pay off my rental and move into it, its 10 minutes from my current house...I want to sell, but have a hard time psychologically to sell...I am like a hoarder who cant depart from a property...Hoarding is not a good trait for investor...

If the tenant is a pain then I would wait till the unit is vacant. 

Once you find true buyers Then weed them into good buyers and pain in the a$$ buyers