If you want to look up the original article, which has links to sources and to other great resources, (I can't link as per BP rules) the article is called "33 Real Estate Statistics That'll Change Your 2019 Strategy" - by Mike BlankenshipGeneral Real Estate Statistics In 2018, 5.5 million existing homes were sold in the U.S. 

I COULD just have title pay off the existing crazy water bill then keep working to have Philly Water reimburse me, but I also have heard horror stories of getting the city to pay you back on something like that being difficult to near impossible to pull off once you've actually paid them.

Looking to be very organized on not only our tenants that exist already taxes ,rent and mortgage etc.

Seems a ten-year-old could have cracked this one by just looking up a few mortgages, to see if they even exist.

You may want to start off by becoming a co-host which is where you basically manage the business for an existing Airbnb host.

For example, Palm Desert is sunsetting all existing licenses for STRs at the end of this year for homes that are not your primary residence or located in a R1 or R2 zone.

Use some of the available tools out there to run high level analysis and then once you have a short list you can start engaging property managers, do more manual research on the existing booking platforms and/or pay for more expensive data to fine tune your analysis.Best of luck!

You can, however, use a VA loan to refinance an existing rental home you once occupied as a primary home.

@Mitchell Litam , the existing lease runs with the property until it ends, however make sure to read your state's landlord tenant laws, so you know how you can make changes once it comes up for renewal, how much notice you have to give them, etc.Water/electric bills in their names is a matter for their current lease and your utility company's policies.

All of those expenses and risks that you mention exist at any time in any market.