Crazy as it seems, this is pretty common when talking to older realtors, lawyers, investors, etc--they don't keep up with the times and have no idea what wholesaling is. 

You don't have enough scale to be part of their "Team" and you're expending a lot of efforts and Trial/Errors in relationships for single investments.  

I had an older building similar to what you are describing and the electric from the common area, gas, water, and lawn care, quickly ate up a significant portion of my cash flow.

It makes it an LP syndication that is a tenant in common with another investor (you).If the syndication is working with their own funding they can generally do this if they choose. 

It will take a little trial and error to find good tradesman.

Big difference between SFR, MF, commercial, short term rentals, etc. the most common mistake is to assume that a company managing 400 SFRs is capable of managing a 40 units apartment complex or the other way around.

Yea this is definitely possible and quote common!

Purchasing the property as tenants in common gives you the greatest flexibility in a sale situation. 

Proving they clogged the drain will be challenging unless your plumber has clear evidence (e.g. pulled wet wipes out of the line). as for their damage, if you require them to have renters insurance that should be available to cover the damage. lastly, code is something that is different from one municipality to another and may things can be not up to code but grandfathered in (e.g. aluminum wiring that was common in the 60s and now is not up to code) 

** Reposting since the last one was over the holidays and this seems like a common question **I came across this cool spreadsheet by Roofstock but I cannot find it on their website.