I vaguely recall a local vendor informed us it was not economically practical to install submitters on a smaller building as ours (10 units).  

My name is Uche Anusionwu (first name pronounced “oo-chay”), and I'm a partner in a newly formed Philadelphia based real estate investment venture that focuses on residential property investments.Background: I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance and an MBA (both from Temple University).

There are some awesome property managers out there, but there are some managers that need to take an Economics 101 and understand reverse incentives are bad:Good incentive: fee based on % of rent ... incentivizes the property manager to rent for market rate rather then a lower monthly rent (to avoid complaints, rent collection, etc.)Bad incentive: additional fee for maintenance ... it's a reverse incentive because then the property manager who charges for additional maintenance and repairs benefits --> they are inclined to say "more work needs to be completed"Bad incentive: lease-up fee ... if they are charging for a property turnover, then they are not incentivized to keep the existing tenant (they're making more money to get a new one in, and you have to pay the turnover costs)As you articulated, there are some awesome managers out there.

Graduated from UMCP with a degree in economics in 2009 and then moved out of my parents' house and down to Southern Maryland for a job.

My company actually identified these markets by looking at five economic factors in each localized market, which I encourage you to look at too when trying to identify a market - Construction, Job Growth, Interest Rates, Homeownership rates, and home prices.Please let me know if you have further questions. 

Pays health insurance premiums from his business account. 

The seller is obligated by contractual law to obide by contract, but s/he still retains legal title.The economics of this property appear to be fine.

Just a reminder of where you are buying in the economic cycle :) (If you don't care about CA or the SF Bay, skip to the bottom for US)I'm not a chartist, but I was surprised how regularly unemployment in CA reverts relatively quickly after getting down to almost exactly 5.0% in the last few decades.. 5.7% as of Nov 2015.

Just a reminder of where you are buying in the economic cycle :) (If you don't care about CA or the SF Bay, skip to the bottom for US)How does the economic cycle affect your real estate decisions?

People are willing to take economic hits to punish others.