I tried to explain to him that it is just a numbers game to me, and that I am not looking to be a "Shark"; He told me that some investors do it, and end up with bad reputations for doing so.

However, tying up property without the ability to close the deal is the fastest way to destroy your reputation.

just to throw this out there, but by me all the foreclosures ive walked int, yeh they had the cute little stickers saying they were winterized, but nope the plumbers would dump some antifreeze down the toilets and call it a day, if you look real close at the heating systems almost always they're popped somewhere.

I would hop on the next plane to Florida, fire him, and hire a reputable property management company to manage your property.

The plumbers I talked to informed me that I would need to install two new tanks to be up to current codes.

Real estate sales is like any sales: your reputation will play a huge factor, which in turn becomes a word of mouth situation.

It appears the plumber failed to fix the issue on his first try (~3 man days of labor).  

They are a long standing family owned company....VERY solid...great organization, excellent reputation.  

I have known him for many years, seen his work, and he has a very good reputation.

Have a reputable title company do a title search, if you need one PM also, I would absolutely get ahold of a RE Attorney, offer them a free meal and pick their brain, may take a few tries or some cash but that is invaluable.