I'm an agent in Westwood, MA and cover many of these areas you are looking for. 

I do believe you still have to go through with the eviction just to cover your butt just in case.

. ($283,000)If I were to put it under contract I would offer the following: - buyer will pay off the balance of the note ($295,000)- Seller will receive $275,000 in cash because buyer will cover the rehab cost to receive the Gross Potential Monthly Income- Seller will split the closing cost 50/50 with the buyerI would love to hear some input from the BP community.

I want to grow beyond covering all my bills and having a little spending money.

Get good marketing and promotion of the home for qualified buyer interest and move it off your books. 

Yes you can do well in the summer, that is true but covering the mortgage will be a goal in January.

In theory this would allow me to buy the land and him to cover my down payment and allow me to keep my cash reserves.

Will your activity be covered by your E&O insurance?

Am looking at these two properties in LA, one is a 4-unit 50 years old just East of Culver City, somewhere east of Hauser and just north of Jefferson Blvd. this one is a bread and butter property which almost covers its own expenses and will be completely carrying itself in 5 years, second one is a 3-units 95 years old on Eagle Rock in walking distance to Colorado Blvd with one unit vacant (needs 30K to rehab).

In the long run, heating the building to 60 degrees and having the tenants cover the rest would probably net you less overall(that's a guess without doing any calculations) but if you plan to own the building for a short period, say 5 years, I would absolutely go for a central heating system set a certain temperature, with the tenants covering the rest to bring it up to a comfortable zone.