There is a two stall garage and the old agreement was that the tenant would also shovel their side of the driveway if they rented a parking spot.

I found the deal and negotiated our purchase price with the absentee owner, offered to split profits 50/50 if they financed both the purchase and rehab costs, I offered to do all manual labor (landscaping, minor hauling of existing furniture, shoveling snow, DIY repairs, cleaning house before showings, etc). 

I don't think I'd want to shovel my hard earned money into equity that may or may not lose value.All thoughts and opinions are welcome!

Could be a shovel, fruit on your tree, clothes left out to dry, etc. 

I have not received my shovel ready permit in my hand as of today.

I own and manage a lawn care company and it's very simple: mow, trim, prune, mulch, rake, plow and shovel show.

Anyway I'm in a better position now to expand after years of on the job training both knowledge wise and financially than I was when I bought this place 4 years ago. and from the comfort of my own home without having to drive all over town to deal with repairs or shoveling or site check ins.

. $500/month expenses - Taxes, insurance, landlord paid utilities, management fees, routine maintenance costs (pest control, snow shoveling, etc), apartment turnover costs (locks, cleaning, paint, repairs, vacancy, etc), saving for capital expenses (roof, windows, furnace, applianes, etc)

Presuming you have management in place for 600 tenants, there could be advantages of SFH like longer tenancy, fewer appliances, less maintenance, less grass cutting, less snow shoveling, etc.

If you can't pay off that $12k before the grace period is up, you are going to be shoveling out a lot of cash on interest carrying costs - costs, btw, which are not eligible for deduction like mortgage interest.