The Sales Rep went on to explain that they would only suspend one's Check Commerce account and freeze the assets, if the client fails to pay their monthly fees to Check Commerce.

Make sure you use a freeze proof one, tip it down on outside so it drains, and make sure you disconnect the hose in freezing temps. 

LA City has a rent freeze so you may not be able to increase rents even if you want to. 

I also say look at where they were buying...for a little while everyone looks like a genius when you buy in hot markets and prices are going up 1-2% a month, but when that slows down, or time on market goes from 7days to 30 days, or your labor supply dries up due to Covid, or you just screw up on one house that has a bad roof or a bad foundation or bad plumbing pipes or all the pipes freeze in Texas because you failed to have on the heat in February and your insurance doesn't cover that because it is vacant and you were negligent, then you may have to sell 10 at really great prices to make up for the one bad one.   

What if the Heat goes out when it is below freezing.  

was that we freeze the home-equity line of credit!

That being said, even contractors can be 'low' on their estimates.Kitchen Cabinets: $1,725Counter top: $6,480Appliances: $1,350 (range and dishwasher)Minor electrical updates/repairs: $1,0001st Floor refinish: $3,6002nd Floor carpeting: $1,500Bathroom Update: $1,500Painting: $750Heating System*: $1,000Labor for the above: $6,720Contingency: $2,563Purchase price: $25,000Rehab costs: $28,188 (Including contingency)Total Investment: $53,188Holding costs @6 mos: ($2,150)Closing costs: ($5,978) (7% of Comps value, ie $85k)Net profit: $72,590 -$53,188 -$2,150 -$5,978 = $11,275*The owner let the building freeze without winterizing the house (claimed and screamed that the house had been winterized, so don't worry about the pipes).

Lots of labor..So it worked for me (the other property managers in town told me Plan B was to get all tenants a  motel for 2 days in dead of winter; drain all pipes and winterize fourplex; then open the windows on the coldest days and freeze them all.

Sometimes no matter what you do, pipes will freeze, but many policies do include a stipulation that you do your best to maintain heat or drain the system completely in order to have the water damage from a burst pipe covered.

If I was a betting man, and had only this picture to make my bet, I would say that this is an freeze-thaw crack - pressure from the soil outside the foundation pushing inward (hence the semi-circular pattern - not stair-step, not vertical or horizontal), so it might be a matter of some exterior grading/drainage work followed by an epoxy grout crack filler repair to remove moisture.I recommend you get it checked out - put a contingency in the contract that covers your bases, so you're only out a couple hundred bucks for a structural inspector.