I don't see the risk being worth wile as water heater are not as reliable here with the stress we put on them during the winter.

I personnaly love doing D4D in the winter time :) 

There is a local meetup in Lake forest every month that you should check out. http://meetu.ps/2QWCkhIf you would like to meet up before then and talk about investing let me know.

It would also cover 2-3 months vacancy in the winter time (unlikely but you never know). 

Especially during the winter (with the blizzard of the century coming)...

Good thing is that the duplex I am worried about most both tenants keep their thermostats at 90 degrees in the winter (thank god electricity and gas are separately metered) so my hope is that the high heat in the interior of the home travels the thermal bridge of the roof joists and aids in the melting of the snow on the roof... may be wishful thinking.  

In general terms, Trusts are for estate planning, LLCs etc are legal entities for liability protection.

When in reality they wanted to hold out for a higher number)In prior experience dealing with listing agents for estates, they have disclosed that they were delaying to see if a higher offer comes in, and sometimes even provide a time frame.  

Pay it, and be grateful my tenant had heat on a cold holiday, after having the power out for two days over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (we had a really bad winter storm and a huge area was without power for several days), or call the company and try to negotiate the cost down a bit, because the tech was not there for two hours (their shop is 10 minutes away), while trying to maintain a good working relationship with them?

Aside from stumbling upon a few homes from people enjoying their winter in Florida, thats a pretty nice tip.