Basically - what would you do in my situation?

They basically just sit on your books until you acquire the property, at which point they'll be added to your basis and depreciated.Forming an LLC won't change that and @Jeremy England is right - all too often, I see people form LLCs and pay the annual fees and what not for a year (or even longer) before actually acquiring a property.

Here's how it breaks down. 6% is just the basics.

The first floor consists of 2 restaurants and the second and third floor is basically a 5 plex of apartments. 

Basic Economics by Dr.

Your basic problem is not your fees it is that you have lax business practices that have trained your tenants it is OK to pay late.

Basic washers and dryers are not worth paying someone to repair if I can't figure it out, I can get them on CL for under $100.What are your rules of thumb?

Or an I basically looking at a straight up purchase from them to me?

The math is a very big part of the deal of course but to me if you can at least get the basic math down you will be fine. 

Obviously lots of factors in this decision but I guess the basic question would be how much you value your time?