One cannot half-azz the heat system.

And the more I think about it, the only way we can get this place would be if the seller took care of the new heating unit.

Hi Victor N.While you can't fully inspect the house without the electricity or gas, you can typically get a pretty good idea of the condition of furnaces by simply looking for install/maintenance dates and general condition of the unit and any baseboard elements, or water damage on floors and ceilings.

My new house is twice the size of my old house, but my new house costs half to heat & cool, that makes a huge difference in the cost & ease of ownership.

Now I own 6 rentals and I am going to relax for the 6-9 months and put some excess cash flow towards my mortgages since I think the housing market is heating up a bit right now. 

Purchase price $138,0004 bedroom 3 bath, completely redone ( granite counter, bamboo wood floors, SS appliances, new heat pump and hot water.Tenant in place with monthly rent of $1,800HOA monthly is $26020% down- 27,600Taxes- $1,500Any advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanks BP nation!

Especially when it was about to rain and covering an outside wall exposed to the elements could only lead to more trouble.

CONDITION OF PREMISES: Tenant acknowledges that he has examined the premises and that said premises, all furnishings, fixtures, furniture, plumbing, heating, electricalfacilities, all items listed on the attached property condition checklist, if any, and/or all other items provided by Landlord are all clean, and in good satisfactory condition except as may beindicated elsewhere in this Agreement.

The market up in IL seems to be heating up; I'm not surprised to hear you're getting good response.

I want to see $150/month cash flow AND 15% Cash on Cash return.Here is how I see this deal:Monthly Mortgage payment$0.00Taxes $66.67Sewer and Water $- (tenant paid)Trash $- (tenant paid)Heat/Utilities $- (tenant paid)HOA $- (none)Cap Ex and Ops $150.00Insurance $54.17Mgmt Fee $- (self managed)Vacancy $44.00Total Expenses $314.83Total Revenue $550.00Cashflow/month $235.17Cashflow/year $2,822.00Cash on Cash Return 15.25%