I think the crux of my concern is that i would prefer to buy and hold and repeat, but I get the impression he and his wife are concerned about being able to make a clean/concise split at the end of the "sale" which would require a flip. 

I wanted to give them some pro tips that if they wanted to get girlfriends they'd need to clean the place up. 

Does title clean code violation?

@Alexander Krasne I tried to contract a cleaning service to do my cleanings and had horrible results.

Properties are clean and neat.

The land use is residential duplex on the property assessor records meaning the property is legally grandfathered as a duplex as it has two separate utility records for gas and electric historically. 

I would not entertain it- far better things to get a return on investment.1- You should not entertain shelling out cash to reduce a tenant's electric bill, no pay-off there.2.

I can paint, clean up trash, etc. - but my time is better spent searching for new deals and working with clients.

Should I insist that the sellers turn them on so I can do a final test of the plumbing, central air, electricity, etc?

I am an Electrical Contractor and starting my journey into buy and holds.