I do get the impression they're a small outfit.

That is what I can do as a one man outfit.

I can't understand why I see some small companies doing this, but none of the larger outfits.

You contact exactly ONE SINGLE outfit, and from their response you draw the conclusions you reached?

If I were looking at a property of this size in MA now and the water was metered per unit I would see that as a plus.Most of the plumbers I've dealt with are too small for this I would think (1 or 2 person outfits).

Maybe I'm wrong and just don't understand investments at a distance.This outfit from Memphis also listed potential cash flow from these properties, however, with the sizable down payment, the cash-on-cash return is back down to the 7-10% range, which is again quite possible with REITs or even some strong LLPs (EPB, KMP, KMI) or traditional blue chip stocks (T).** Disclosure: I'm Long EPB and KMI.

It's best to find one of these outfits that specialize in helping real estate investors.

@Debra ThomsonAny outfit that makes it to the "team" level and starts doing lots and lots of deal is eventually going to bring a realtor in house. 

They might cost more, and not have the manpower of the bigger outfits, but they will feed their family with your business, so they will care to keep you happy.

I know one other local small mom and pop outfit investor like me who handles security deposits as I do.