Although the blades on the snake are sharp, when you plunge into a massive ball of roots the blades are rendered useless and the pulling effect starts. 

The front porch is small and does not have a back deck/ patio.The budget is a bit tight-- the furnace, AC,water heater, kitchen and bathrooms were all ripped out and need to be replaced.

A conversion MFH I was looking at went from a 4-plex needing electrical and deck work, to an illegal MFH that needed permits the seller would take care of, to a duplex as is (permits undetermined).

They smoke on balconies, decks, etc., and claim never to smoke indoors.

The entire floor needs to be scraped with a razor blade (don't worry, not a little Schick razor, a 3-4" floor razor) if it's on a concrete slab like we see so much in California.

We are putting a door to the master that will lead to the back new deck we are building4.

Check if any decking replacement is included, its normally not and is about $50/sheet (4x8 plywood sheet) for replacement.

Thanks David, this is my first multi-unit and I don't want to chance not having something on deck for just in case.

On the other hand, if you can avoid these potential pitfalls, there are opportunities out there.I recently purchased an intended buy and hold (90% of what we do) and ended up flipping it (this particular house was about an hour north of Concord in the Claremont / Springfield VT area):Purchased for $55K needing a good amount of capital injection:We did new windows, roof, deck and vinyl rails, cedar clapboard repair and paint, some sill repair, entire new propane-fired forced hot water heating and domestic hot water system (it had electric heat and an old electric water heater), plumbing repairs, full bathroom redo (new tub/shower with custom tile enclosure, new vanity, new toilet), half bath redo (vanity and toilet), new floors throughout (tile and laminate and refinishing of hardwood in living room), all new interior doors and finish carpentry, complete interior paint job, new sinks/faucets/finish plumbing, new appliances, a good amount of electrical upgrades, all new interior and exterior lighting fixtures, driveway redo with blue stone, a drainage-related landscaping improvement, filling in of a swimming pool, and other miscellaneous odds and ends.I estimated to be all-in (purchase, reno, and carrying costs) just under $100K.

If you're going to be doing bigger things (roofing, adding walls, plumbing, electrical, decks, etc) you may want to use a GC.