Galvanized pipes in STL are a nightmare, and almost all of them in the city are at the end of their lifespan, good news is correcting those issues is a major bonus when buying a remodeled house.We are still seeing multiple offers on properly put together houses in nice neighborhoods, so you should have clear skies when you go to sell if nothing changes. 

Right before Christmas week, I was given news that we finally had the engineer report and that the permit would finally be applied for, but something or other error or complication - I'm not even really sure - prevented us from using the report and that we would have to find another way, and of course I wasn't going to get any updates through Christmas and New Year.

.), we would be close to breaking even on most deals.  

You may have a difficult time finding some options.The good news is the available options are not much more than if you were renting out to lower risk retail tenants.

Its a great place to beThat is great news.

If it wasn't for your inability to control the homes around you, I would say you just start evicting everyone who is not paying, breaking the law or not following park rules.

If you have a good relationship with a bank and you have even break-even numbers on your rentals, there's usually a solution to be found to acquire more properties. 

I don't want to break the law but I do want to get a deal.

An $80 fixture at HD/Lowes can look a lot better than the $25 one and it doesn't break the bank.

The caveat with these loans is it's difficult to break them out of the portfolio so if you don't want to sell them down the line or don't want to refinance one of the portfolio, it's not a bad way to go.