If you buy in a nice part of Chicago it's pretty easy to self manage after you move out using services such as Cozy for rent collection (it's what I use and automates the rent collection). 

It seems a little high to me, but again I'm not familiar with NW Indiana.Could you have the tenant pay water/sewer/trash or is that not typical there?

Plumbing and Water Damage Issues.

Prior to this deal, Tom had also given his help while my wife and I renovated our fourplex, and he even went so far as to give us a water heater he had lying around!

I do have someone that works in our office to help make sure our single water bill is split into the various properties it belongs to and stuff like that, but until I had about 500 or so units, I did all of it myself.I don't want to sound like a d**k, but when I see someone start with "I'm looking to build a team" that's a giant red flag and I can be pretty sure that person if very unlikely to buy.Focus on these three things only at this point:1) How do I get money for my down payment2) Who's going to lend me my ~75% once I have my down payment3) How to find the properties I want to buyThe rest is noise and really just done to make people think they're moving forward towards their goal when they're not

I did a little research and I suspect that the issue is not the type of metal but an incorrect valve application. ie, someone may have used a shutoff intended for water and not a gas rated one.They're typically marked in some way.

@Philip Cook If you are thinking of STVR ask yourself in Stevens Point who would want to vacation in one in Stevens Point in a multi family area when they could rent a cabin on water?

Cozy, Payyourrent, and Avail are my friends use the most.

Structure shift (at least in my area) typically is caused by poor water management.

I was also going to suggest turning the water off from the inside.