By the way, I am a fierce critic of Southern California's inability to add density housing.  

Your issue isn't with the other house, it's you have a lease, are paying rent on time, and are losing utilities that are critical to the habitability of the house.I would start with a letter to your landlord or whomever is listed on the lease as the property manager.

I, along with many other commercial brokers, are getting sick of loopnet.

The good news is this:  once you do a good deal or two with your first set of investors and prove yourself, they will start referring other investors to you and your business will start to grow exponentially from there.Finally, what @Lennon Lee said is critical as you do NOT want to get on the bad side of the SEC! 

Basically, the market rental value of a property is disproportionate to the rate of investment, so you are more likely to see more value in your deals.One of the criticisms I've seen on the market, and this is true of Cleveland as well, is that the population is decreasing and the locations are overbuilt.

After a year goes by, I will have a balance due of $474,003 and I want to refinance because I'm sick of paying for PMI.

It's hard to choose on of these as most of the time the reviews and buying guides found on the net rarely include a "user criticism" section which gives more insight about the product.

This is not as critical for ROI, but is definitely important for IRR and XIRR.  

As a property owner, that is the most critical function to have filled well.I'm close to Yellow Springs, if you want to chat or get some coffee, let me know.

Relationships are critical to being successful in real estate.