@Will Foster so one thing not mentioned in the podcast was that lines of credit can be terminated by the banks so while they may provide some piece of mind they are not the same as cold hard cash.

Everyone laughed, said she was an idiot, there's nothing to "specialize" in, FTHB are just normal easy vanilla loans, that's as stupid as a doctor saying they "specialize" in the common cold.

I did not know that every pipe burst or split or that it was not winterized and that the main water line to the house needed full replacement. 

Keep in mind that the seller is going to try to get out from the property for a reason, just ask a question and listen, if he's motivated enough they will reveal more than needed OR they will not have enough selling points which could be a bad thing. ie; vacancy rates (leads to knowledge about the area or housing issues the tenants had), water usage (potential plumbing issues), appliances held in the units (leads to how old the electrical is in the home) CHECK IF THE OUTLETS ARE GROUNDED !!! 

The owner pays water, garbage, sewage currently.

I think the utility is Los Angeles department of water and power. 

You could have a multifamily where you pay heat, electric, water, garbage, lawn, snow and repairs happen every month, with vacancy once a year.

Some were single moms that worked crazy hours to stay above water and kids were left home all day.

@Andrew Neal I can sympathize with her desire to stay away from long, cold and grey winters.

- anyways my research indicates that the previous owner had an unpaid water bill of 15K that went unpaid and the city cut off the water, tenants bailed, and property went in to foreclosure.