We held firm at 61K, and even were told our bid was outdone by another buyer.

How about painting it black and enclose the metal posts with wood and paint it the same color as the door?

Hi Jon, If the property that you are relinquishing was held for rental/investment and the property that you are acquiring will be held for rental/investment (as opposed to held for sale), then you can structure the transaction as a concurrent 1031 Exchange. 

I am thinking I need to "cover" that area with some locked metal but I am unsure as what to devise...Any suggestions anyone?

The majority of the mortgage market is held in securitized trust +/- $4.0 Trillion.  

The building manager gave me a one-time waive policy, and I definitely held them in higher regard after doing that.

Here is some important information32 UnitsClass C property in a B neighborhoodA block from nice shopping, restaurants, etc.Original owner held since building in the '60's, recently passedOwner's daughter is out of state, with no experience in real estate (she is a lawyer though, so not clueless)Expenses appear very high (reported 75%)Many tenants who havent had rents raised in 5-10 yearsRents sit around $0.73/SF, there appears to be room to take them to $1Here are where things get interesting:Reported FinancialsGPI $222,000Expenses $152, 327NOI 44, 646Based on the expenses, I am comfortable saying that I could remove some, (for example, they are paying 2 management companies, one of which is family owned, I believe to reduce taxes).  

If you really want to get all the water out, there should be a valve on the side of the tank near the bottom, either plastic or metal, with garden hose threads on it. 

Geothermal heating, sustainable, boxy but sleek, flat roofs, metal panels.... 3 car garage, 3800 sq ft or so..

That is why it's held in an escrow account.