So frustrating and time consuming and painful to have to go through the damage. 

I'm not sure what is the best way to do this without causing myself pain from a tax standpoint. 

If you do go, it's because you have a sick relative somewhere who needs to see you before they go on to glory -- the best kind of story for that is an expensive one, like a blind half-brother with a rare blood disease who is only free of constant pain in this one remote high-altitude institute in the Cascades...something so outlandish no one would make it up that at the same time implicitly explains why you need the rent checks to be on time.

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 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?