I have not had any experience with general contractors in that area, but I know Air Specialty heating & cooling did a very good job on my single family home for HVAC.

If the fleas do not sense the heat or movement of a meal...they will go dormant (or the young ones will just stay in their cocoons) and can do so for close to a year i'm told. 

If the utility companies will not give them accounts, then they won't be good tenants.The Canadian REI environment is a lot different from the US. 100 miles outside of Toronto, you CAN NOT buy a fixer upper single home for less than 180K, even Hamilton is heating up.

Most older quads here will have boiler heat that the owner pays which can be a killer.  

My uncle hasn't had much trouble finding renters in the past.The property has had a ton of rehab over the last year: new double paned windows, new exterior doors, new A/C and heaters, new plumbing (pex) throughout, new tile flooring throughout, some new electrical (all professionally done and inspected), new bathrooms, new fixtures, 4 of the 6 units have new cabinets, new appliances (stove, refrigerator, no dishwasher), shingled roof (less than 5 years old), new trim added to all the units, new paint both inside and out, had foam insulation added to the attic to help with the heating/cooling as well as protect the new plumbing that they decided to run through the attic, 2 new hot water heaters (each service 3 units), No structural or foundation issues, new water line from meter to the building, and not in a floodplainThe lot is quite big (1 acre) and is zoned commercial.

He pays 1/2 the heat and water and sewage for the upstairs tenet, and heat sewer and water for the downstairs tenet.

While water/sewer is easy to deal with, anytime you are paying for heat you are looking for trouble.

While water/sewer is easy to deal with, anytime you are paying for heat you are looking for trouble.

What type of heating?  

If no one outbids you, you don't get your costs back, including legal, public notices, auctioneer, and the cost of taxes, insurance, municipal fines, and maintenance such as heat and snow removal while you wait for the auction.