These folks have caused a water damage and downstair roof has crashed down in the washer/dryer room.

Side note: I think it would be cool to have a small meetup for landlords / wannabe landlords to discuss and share tips on all the peculiarities that come with this unique territory.

When dealing with a shady handyman, that's like blood in the water for sharks.In the future, you can best prevent this by not waiting till the last minute to take care of such repairs. 

Just continue saving cash and buy your next one when/if the market cools down.

I agree with Michael that your main goal should be to determine if the property can generate a good positive cashflow after running the numbers and taking into account any cap X costs that may be coming up such as a new roof or hot water tank.

Hey guys,I have a property that I am putting under contract.It is in Clayton County, GA.The tenant of this property currently has large water bill.The owner of this property said that this water bill is tied to the owner and that it is not tied to the property itself.How true is this statement?

There are some parts of Chicago that do not have metered water services. 

@Bryan Martin - You also need to find out if the units are metered separately or is it master metered and if the owner (potentially you in the future) responsible for any of the expenses as far as the utilities are concerned i.e. electric, gas, water, sewer and trash/dumpsterWith a quad also make sure to get all the expenses (that are applicable) for common area like lighting, sec sys, landscaping, snow removal etc.

A rough equivalent would be having the water not working in one of the bathroom sinks. 

The small fee you pay now might save you in the long run from getting into hot water and costing you thousands.