I've heard from several people who thought they had an owner finance agreement signed at the kitchen table, assumed they were paying down equity only to have the house sold right out from under them.Ben,  How common is this that a seller is willing to give up their deed upfront in exchange for seller financing.  

Interestingly enough, its a lesson quite commonly adopted by real-estate investors themselves.

Attic insulation is one of those things that I am not sure how much practical effect there is, I only add attic insulation whenever the government subsidizes the cost, and after it's done I don't see any cost saving in my utilities bills (student rentals). 

Heck it’s common practice to make someone aware of an impending obligation.

A missed sewer line can be a 20-30k repair alone, but more commonly you are going to be over budget $500 here, $1,000 there, and when you add it all up, it becomes $20k very quickly.

IRS liens, municipal liens, utility liens also transfer to the high bidder.I'd contact the owner and see if a pre-auction deal can be struck, which would eliminate the auction competition. 

If you still are unsure, have them send you a copy of their most recent (FPL) utility bill.

A couple ideas below:- Have tenants pay utilities if they don't already- Refinance into lower rate- Increase rents (or convert to mid term/short term rental or rent by the room)- Call the county tax assessor's office to ensure there was no mistake in the tax increase- Call your insurance broker to get you other quotes- Sell the property and 1031 into a better market that does not have those issues- Self manage if you currently have a property managerHope these help!

Plus covered garage parking and all utilities included. 

I looked into DSCR and spoke to a few lenders, but it seems I need to have 2 years of rental property ownership before I can utilize; I'm only approaching my 1st year of renting by the room, so I assume I'd need to wait another year before I can look into DSCR.