I was recently contacted by relatives stating the last owner is also deceased which happened recently within the last 90 days.

I am wondering if there are any fellow members that are doing the same thing I am and are willing to share their experiences with me.

Relax in the air conditioning after a day at the beach.

One time they requested that I install/repair a front porch/step railing within x days or they would cancel my property. 

It is usually done at the same time, but will involve asbestos testing which can get expensive.Big question is - why not just leave well enough alone?

But thank you for getting this together and make the acquisition, it sounds perfect and can hopefully save other from some of the same issues.

He is 18 days late on rent.

But is it worth it or split system work the same?

I'd rather have 3 busted potable water lines to one damaged yard sewer line any day of the week. 

There are definitely pros and cons to each so I figured I would just lay out a few benefits and personal thoughts: Small banks/brokerages:Pros:- Some regional knowledge of the market- Possibility of more creative lending guidelines with bank specific programs- Sometimes they have competitive rates for their areaCons: - weak balance sheet (more strict on some guidelines, no wiggle room, inability to be flexible or grant exceptions because they cannot afford to hold less than perfect loans)- Can't scale with clients to different markets- Usually limits exposure to individual investors (they don't want one investor to be too big of a portion of their balance sheet)- Lack of experience with multiple solutions (tend to have 2 or 3 loan products they sell and are too niche to provide tailored solutions)Large banks/brokerages:Pros:- Large compliance departments that understand individual market guidelines (typically each state has specific lending guidelines that augment the national baseline)- Ability to scale into multiple markets with same lender (licensed in many states)- Impossible for individual investors to "outgrow" a large bank's balance sheet (not concerned with one investor's concentration)- More lending solutions available for different scenarios- Often comparable or better rates given the game is volume basedCons:- Can be more difficult to get fast responses if the bank/brokerage does not have good follow up systems in place (or if the underwriting/processing staff gets overwhelmed)- Bad large banks can feel less like a relationship and more like a cog in a factory (less personal)Overall, I have worked from both and worked with both as a loan officer, branch manager, and as an investor/client myself.