They claim that when it gets cold the shark bite fasteners could "loosen" causing the pex to leak.  

But then I discovered that the house needed a new roof, new plumbing, new HVAC and new septic tank.

Build your properties like a freaking tank or they will trash it.

Sharks in the room- We have a friend that runs a fairly large real estate business in Florida.  

In addition the seller has given you the buyer a deed and if you don't perform they are generally SOL as you walk and their house gets foreclosed by bank because they don't have the means to cure. and now they have a full blown foreclosure on their record.There is a ton of abuse in this model with under capitalized sharks talking unsophisticated sellers into this scheme...

The Hot Water tanks (While still functioning) were at least 8 years old and I anticipated a replacement on those right away.

A background on my first purchase made nearly 6 months ago.Purchase Price: $208,000 (5% down w/ $8,000 credit - First Time Home Grant) Unit 1 (Rented) : $1,250Unit 2 (My unit, Projected income) : $900Projected (monthly) Income: $2150Mortgage/Taxes/Insurance: -$1415 / monthWater/sewer/user fees: -$60 / monthElectric / Gas = By tenantsRepairs: -$170 / monthFix repairs (Furnaces/Roof/Water Tanks): -$50 / monthLess Vacancy: -$215 / monthTotal Monthly income = $2150 - 1910 = $240Cash on Cash return (Money out of pocket at closing: $10,500) = (240*12) / (10,000) =  27.4% / YearThe icing on top: Both roofs for the garage and home are brand new, and the home inspection came through clean.

I have no doubt people can ethically do this, but, when it comes to seniors and how often they're taken advantage of, I just cringe at the thought of another shark circling them.If anyone's been close with their grandparents and seen them struggle through battling insurance companies, random thief's calling them asking for cash on and on, door to door theives saying they have mandated work needed on the house and need half up front, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

I have been doing this 13 years and have yet to do a roof, water heater (I have a tanked water heater that is 25 years old and has not started to leak), or furnace (but I did obsolete one wall furnace with a split HVAC).In the absence of numbers I believe that the numbers I put forth above are the best available for San Diego. 

I understand that filling a tank can cost a fair amount up front, but does it last for a while in a warm-ish climate (SC)?