Your best bet is to get someone over there that knows landscaping design and can look and see what you're dealing with.

Landscaping etcHe was getting $900 a month for each unit but the upstairs tenant isn't paying, but should be out this week.

-Relationships with great contractors around Richmond and Los Angeles: plumbers, handymen, roofing, foundation, mold, HVAC, paint, fences, decks, power-washing, landscaping, electrical, and more at great quality and pricing I've found excellent (usually). 

Yard maintenance, landscaping, flooring, and fully sealing off units...

It could use new siding and some landscaping, as someone new to this space are these things that aren't necessary immediately?

It's hard to screen for this unless someone is outwardly a total Pigpen though- the ones I had issue with in my home had clean vehicles and apparently were just very lazy with their living space and/or thought that I would clean up after them like their mother...You may want to delegate lawn care and snow removal to a landscaping service so its one less thing for everyone to worry about.  

If you have a property that has a yard and driveway in a region that sees all 4 seasons is it better to have the tenant handle minor landscaping such as cutting the grass and shoveling the snow or is it better to hire a landscaping company?

I add Value to this deal by upgrading the Bathrooms, and upgrading the Patio, I also did a nice job on the Land Scaping!

You can self-manage even long distance as long as you systematize the process.Connect with a few handypeople and contractors in your rental markets; look around for a landscaping company that can do minor landscaping in the spring and fall.

There are cases where other income from utilities, laundry, a C-store, a restaurant, or something like that deserves additional evaluation, so make sure not to punt before you understand additional income.Also, there are cases where the expenses will be higher, particularly in a park that has a large amenity package (like pools, clubhouses, sport courts, game rooms, etc), or a high degree of expense related to landscaping and maintenance.Once you discover you are in the ball park, then it will be smart to determine where there is potential for upside.