Our lease only says that the utility must be on but does not state the consequence of having it shut off.I don't know how to best proceed.We are in Florida.

In many states the lender can't even get a default judgment against the borrower if it was a purchase-money mortgage.

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean?

I have also purchased properties from other KW Realtors that live out of state. 

Are there various strategies/corporate structures that can be employed to minimize the tax obligation to Canada when investing in the states?

Unfortunately I don’t have the time or breadth of knowledge (yet) to be able to do this out of state.

The barrier is the additional complexity - now you are operating two sets of books, and filing two tax returns, and have more operating agreements, more state registrations, etc, need to manage cash better, need to keep in constant mind that your rents need to be a supportable FMV, which may require getting third party certification on your rents so that in the event of an IRS audit, what you have done is supported.In short...the size of the project, and the taxable income, need to be of enough scope to make all the additional costs and annoyances worth it. 

No one in the area has been successful, they even put an article in the local newspaper saying that they haven’t changed anyone’s property tax that has appealed.

In that case, he should have created a syndication for you and others to invest in and filed Form D with both the SEC and the state. 

The one thing that freaks me out the most about Springfield (and all of MA) are the lead laws the state has.