There is no door or evidence of a previous entrance from the inside common hallway.Any suggestions?

Are you interested in doing your own management/maintenance.

Make it an all-in price with utilities and fence all 3 properties in and make outside space all 'common area' with fire pit, barbecue.

Also its simply not that common in the dc area for renters to have renters insurance, so even if I required it, the tenant would be cancelling it the day after they showed me the policy.

well you can do it a number of ways.but the most common isyou offer on the property its accepted subject to your POF.. if you have your lender in tow.. the lender writes a letter and says he is going to fund..

Inspections, maintenance, etc...

Do you own the property in an LLC or as tenants in common?

@Jack B This is a pretty common strategy buyers use to tie a property up.

@Khang NguyenWhen you do maintenance/fix things - i.e. a broken cabinet door - or when you clean and paint during turnover, those activities are generally classified as expenses.When you add or renew things to the property such as fixtures (lights, plumbing); a new HVAC system; new roof, new flooring, etc.  

and have run into a snag.The HVAC needs some repair/maintenance work, and we aren't getting heat into the building.