It depends on where you live, but the places I have, the water bill is tied to the house vs electric or cable which is tied to the tenant-so if the tenant doesn't pay the electric bill, they have problems when they move and try to get it at their next place.What I do for my places in BC is pay the water bill directly and then send my tenants the bill.

The tri-state area is difficult to invest in at the moment.

Drafted a plan, gathered estimates, created a budget, put together DTI sheets, even got an "as-built" appraisal, and also have it in a permit status at the Local Building and safety office.Then I started to look into the construction loan and the permanent financing....to do it myself, and not through a builder.I soon realized that there are sooo many companies out there that want to try to help...but cant  (some of them were even on this network of people):  don't have builds on record, won't allow for owner-built homes, my credit is less than 680, while carrying the construction loan, there may be a point at the end where because i have my rental house while building that it become hard to pay, and  I can't pull out a private loan to help start process because my credit cards balances are horrible...and my "business" has no show of income.So, now we are here in the present time....   

Keep an open mind and try to meet everyone at these meetings.

You can have Home Owners and Flood Insurance and the Big Bad Wolf will blow your house down and then, you need to pay a lawyer to try to collect damages from Insurance who may never pay you. 

They're trying to include grandfathering of existing properties (Grandfathering is common in Georgia like non-conforming duplexes, etc).

Keep trying, learning, and "failing forward" and you'll figure out what works for you. 

I have been trying to sell the house for six months, initially listing for 710K, but I haven't received any offers.

I would like to offer without an agent on some deals I have found on my own both on Realtor.com and off market facebook groups 1) am I insane to try purchasing my first property without an agent?

This makes me want to try Airbnb one day.