One tenant took 12 hours to tell me that he had no water in the middle of winter.

Depending on what class u rent to, you may then run into problems with your tenants not being able to pay rent cuz the heat bill is so high in the cold months.

Told the guy , have blankets , fill the tub with water , have flashlights . if the electric goes out and it gets cold , open all the faucets to drain down the house .

It doesn't get any better than this..until you are snorkelling these waters, it is amazing! 

I have capital that has produced disappointing results in convential investments  I am considering investing 60 - 80 K all cash on a town home rental  this will give me a chance to test the waters and see if I want to go bigger  jay

For this property, currently water, sewer and trash are owner-paid.So, here's my question: how can I convert water, sewer and trash over to tenant paid as efficiently (and fairly) as possible?

I recommend minimum 4 coats with poly.  2 seal coats with buffing between and 2 final coats  You can use water base as  well if you prefer, finishing will dry faster allowing for more coats.

When qualifying a property, why does it matter how much it is under water if the bank will still only be able to get the highest bid at auction?

So my job with him, would be to cold-call potential sellers.

1) Scrape popcorn: $25002) Add a tankless hot water heater: $2500 (opens closet in house and resolves code issues with existing tank)3) Pergo XP flooring through all house besides bathrooms