When you are purchasing a new property, whether for your own home or for a rental property, here's a tip that can save you money in the future. 

Always ask the previous owner for a list of contractors and handymen who have worked on the property in the past.  There is actually two good reasons to do this.  First of all you will have the names of contractors who already are familiar with the property.  They know what equipment is installed and can usually bring the right parts with them the first time.  This can save you the cost of an extra trip to "get parts".   

Be sure to ask if the previous owner was happy with their work and would use them again.  If he was not happy, find out why and be sure that the repairs were made correctly or you could be stuck with the cost of "getting it done right".  This leads into the second reason why you should ask about contractors who have worked on the property. 

If the previous owner says that he doesn't know any contractors and he "took care of everything himself" you should take a long hard look at the condition of the property.  This is not to say that many landlords can't take care of their own properties, but, trust me on this one.  You have heard the saying "jack of all trades, master of none".  This is too often true.  You could be looking at having to re-do some poor quality work. 

In addition, if the previous owner had to do everything himself there is a good chance that some repairs just didn't make it to the "A: list and you could be looking at some "differed maintenance". 

Usually a landlord realizes that he simply can't do everything himself and has at least the name of a handyman who could be a big help to you down the road.