They have since merged with RPM, which is somewhat ironic.

Buying a brand new house is a bit like buying car in its first year of production: you will be the guinea pig dealing with recalls, manufacturing defects, and unanticipated problems...whereas, if you buy a car that's been in production for 10 years, there's a better chance that the manufacturer has ironed out many of those problems ....or, that the problems have manifested and the car has a poor reputation for reliability--which steers you away (pun intended) from purchasing the car.It's also somewhat common for older houses to be "rehabbed" by flippers who use shiny new materials to cover up or distract from serious underlying problems.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5536-Hilton-St_Oakland_CA_94605_M21724-22539But notice the iron gate with the pointy spikes on top... the bars on the windows... not a good initial sign.

I have thought about using a small amount of liquid sewer or drain cleaner periodically, but I don't want to do any damage to the not new cast iron pipes.

Ironically I believe it is the opposite in Maryland.

The ironic thing about it is that it costs little more (our experience: sometime less than 5%, never more than 10%), to significantly lower the energy footprint of a property; the older the property, the bigger the impact.  

Make it iron clad so you have a minimum amount of repair calls.I found an awesome old thread that talks about this.

Close in the middle of the month, you receive 1/2 months rent without any work or effort and benefit on the mortgage.Inherited tenants are often a nuisance with their first payment to a new landlord, by owning for 2 weeks ahead you can iron out potential problems in advance.

Ironically, after finishing my IT degree, I decided to shift my focus to real estate.  

The driveway and sidwwalk as well as patio were re-done at the request of the tenants, whose daughter ironically was the one complaining about how she would fall in the winter time due to the un-level side walk.