I was wondering if anybody has any experience with these ice machine that you see on the side of the road etc, would this be a good investment?

Hello BPI'm getting ready to break the ice with my first property.I've been reading many of the suggested books from the BP community as well as watching videos and listening to podcasts.After 2 mos, I finally found what I think can be a sweet deal.

Grab a shovel and get the snow removed.. the ice dam guys that's the way the ice dam guys do it so if not a 10 story building and you have a way up there grab a small snow blower, smooth shovels and work the area near the leak first.. my nephew has a ice dam business in Minnesota,, and that's what they do.. min 125.00 a hour. for 2 hrs is average call..or call some ice dam services in your area.. 

 @Rich Ng NO, they will charge you for the service of lawn cutting /  snow removal, but they call the companies to send them, especially for me, 3 hrs away, they know when the snow needs to be removed or the ice needs salt on the walks. i do get charged for that, but the fee you pay your PM takes care of all those calls they do. if i am correct Jason (OP) is saying, is it better to not pay PM fee of 10% and pay every time the PM has to do something. if it snows 8 days during the month and they charge to make that call 8 times ( they will not do it for free if you are not paying for their service monthly ) that could cost you  a lot, on top of the cost from the person doing the work.

So, I bought them 2 cases of Colt 45 and a bunch of ice-cream for the kids till the A/C guy got there.  

The shingles that were replaced in the Ice storm of 2009?

With the summers off, I am looking at a seasonal business for some extra income.There is an ice cream shop that I am looking at.

Also, empower tenants with a bucket (some brands come in boxes) of ice melt, one at each door (few will shovel, but most will throw ice melt on their porch between your shoveling intervals)..Whatever you do (DIY or contractor), have a plan in place and reasonable maintenance intervals (like biweekly mowing, or shoveling with 2'' or more, inspecting for ice etc) and don't just rely on the kindness of strangers (or tenants) to do it.

I believe the bulk of the dues go towards insurance, making the whole thing a form of self-licking ice cream cone.I would like to dissolve the HOA. 

How are those ice dams coming along?