The whole idea is to create pain for you if you don't proceed.

It is becoming a real pain. 

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'll probably want to get the daughter to sign a power of attorney for the mother to sign all sales related documents.  

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.

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.

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