My contractor has gotten impatient waiting for him and has started taking matters into his own hands (he did the jack hammering of the floors which my plumber said had "complications" and would "take forever to get through"). 

Somehow I think it's better to hold onto my own money and keep that dry powder on the sidelines waiting to get into the game if there are some emergency expenditures (haha, very likely with the kinds of deals I'm thinking about in class C neighborhoods).

Now that the 3rd one is on the fritz they’re 8 weeks into waiting for service under the warranty.

At a certain point, there was nothing further we could do but wait for the courts.You can think of a rental property as a small business, with your tenants as customers.

We are still waiting to see how this will play out in the state when someone is made to be an example by not following the rules.   

The reason i have not purchased lately is I do not want to be that patient to wait for a good return, even though I am confident it will be a good return 10 years after purchase.  

This way the contractor isn't running to the store and waiting on anything.

If you're not set on a specific market, it's worth waiting until you choose, as forming the LLC in your target state can simplify compliance, property registration, and taxes. 

(I will ask that, out of respect for our current tenants’ security and privacy, to wait until your viewing appointment before walking the property.)If everything above is agreeable to you, let me know your availability over the next few days and I'd be happy to take you through the apartment.

The market is always evolving and there may be good deals to be had near term or you may need to wait a while, depending on many factors like interest rates etc.