Next would be to establish some boots on the ground in this area (i.e. realtors, contractors, other investors) Anyone have any feedback on the temperature of the investment market in the Philly area and surrounding counties.

Without me having to grab a suit and go hangout in a court room, to take the courts temperature in Virginia on the topic, I wanted to see if anyone else in the last 12 months or less have been running into the courts dismissing, or not dismissing, your lawsuits for rents owed between the time a tenant vacated a unit and you got it rented?

This past week we've been having an early - though not terribly severe - cold snap with temperatures down in the -25C range overnight.  

One effect this has on my property is that I cannot get the downstairs unit in my triplex above 58 F when the outside temperature is below -5 F (heating system on full blast).

With these historically cold temperatures in the eastern part of the US, I'm curious to hear if there are any additional things to look for when dealing with vacant properties (with no utilities on) regarding damage?

I have two properties that have the washer and dryer hookups in the garage, and the high temperature this week has been 21 degrees.

But yeah, freezing temperatures are definitely a concern.By 'frame it in,' you mean basically build a closet the washer\dryer would live in, yeah?

It would add an inviting and cozy ambiance to the unit, and it would heat the entire place to my liking (it would have controlled temperature settings to keep a consistent temp). 

It seems like for planned turnovers, one year leases would minimize vacancy and not leave you with a vacancy in sub zero temperatures.

Anytime you can have a electric Garage door opener in our cold-weather especially with the temperatures we have now.