So the owner technically only has to pay for water and heat for the building. 

Man, it is a nice feeling when you go into winter without any extra heating bills to pay!

The basement is a great place for a coin op laundry that will give you some weekend fun mon(ey) Also stay away from old (pre 1955 prox) buildings with plaster and lath that have baseboard (radiant) electric heat unless you see the electric bills and they are reasonable.

.$2,000 New furnace after finding the heat exchanger was cracked$1,200 handyman labor to paint exterior window and trim, haul debris from yard, replace counter, get shower tile back to watertight, fix ceiling damage from water$600 materials, including paint, kitchen counter, locks$600 new vinyl kitchen floor$200 three yards of dirt to correct grading around the foundation$200 plumber to replace gas valve, fix leaky drain, replace p traps in kitchen and address a couple other concerns I had$37,050 all in.I spent about 30 hours of my own time buying materials, stopping by to manage workers, and doing some minor work myself. 

Is the house have forced hot air as its heating source?

If the fridge has water-through-the-door, it may have a small tank in the fridge to cool the water; you need to empty that tank, or move the fridge somewhere warm.The furnace, if new enough, might have a water drain that operates even when the *heat* is running. 

It is a HUGE OLD brick, solid structure 6 bdrm, no bathrm.It needs septic system and added indoor bathroom; roofing: chimney repair; rewiring; and an updated heating system. prestine location with like 100 ac. hardwood forest and 40 ac fields probably. it as an apple orchard, lots of maple trees for syrup. sunset, sunset view and southern exposure.actually i want it to turn into an organic homestead farm and run a buy local store/ and vending out space. aventually add some cabin rentals.

Oswego is way too fluid, there are incredible looking deals here that are 300 days on market; even advertising in the MLS the great cash flow and cap rate yet no one is touching them.And Syracuse is not much better.  

Propane heat is a deal killer up here esp with negligible insulation.

The building was occupied by the owner who lived in one of the units and had the thermostat that controlled the heat for the entire building in her unit.The heat for the building is produced by a single gas fired steam boiler which was installed last year when the old oil boiler was replaced.What is the best option for controlling the heat for the property?