He said the drains have root problems and will need to hire a plumber with a video to see where and condition of cast iron pipes. 

Ironic that these guys work on problems nobody wants to even deal with! 

For example, once we had the iron go bad for one of our guests who were there for the wedding.

Ironically, there will be outcry about how expensive rent is in the city, but the same people complaining about rent are making it more expensive to rent out our property.

v=_n2IVF9a2IAAnd how ironic that the most creative minds, the ones who are working hardest to get the economy going, those are the ones that you round up.

This would make replacing your supply side - and waste water - a little less painful.As Joel Owens indicated, I would plan on the main being galvanized steel to the street (the City/Municipal water & sewer department may be able to confirm) and price accordingly.I would also verify it the waste lines are cast iron (or something else like copper) within the building (or have they been replaced with PVC/ABS over the years) and whether the sewer main is cast iron, or clay, to the street.

I think the problem for a lot of us is simply that we have too many irons in the fire.

If you purchase the building before you get this formally ironed out, you're going to be sitting there making payments while the city takes its time figuring out what it will allow you to do.

Ironic story alert.

Coincidentally, I'm finding it more difficult to pull the trigger on my second deal because my first house hack has made me financially comfortable and ironically more risk averse.