We would like to learn about how we should have went about it so that we can purchase more properties, minimize mistakes, and reduce our reliance on corporate life.

This needs to be limited and reduced. 

I asked our manager about reducing the rent but he said we are asking a fair amount and we are getting lots of interest but a lot of cancellations, no shows, or people who don’t follow through with applying or don’t meet minimum credit score.

We are definitely likely going to see a drop in interest rates, which means you could always refinance in the future too to further reduce your monthly payments. 

Quote from @Cari Sweet:  This sounds like a case for Fair Housing- Familial Status discrimination. 

You've probably heard of big Landlords losing property, but only because they were flagrantly violating Fair Housing, running a slum, or otherwise egregiously violating the law.

For every day after the 30-days, the permit fee is reduced by 10% of the permit fee.  

Campus housing has been under tremendous headwinds for the last 4 years.These properties were sold with extremely aggressively optimistic projections, as well as a price that represented a significant premium to fair market value.So sorry to hear about your investment.

People have been dropped by insurance companies in wildfire areas and had to scramble to try to find insurance - some using California Fair Plan. 

We also tell them that we charge $25 per hole for TV mounts, shelves etc I think that $10 up-front investment has reduced the number of issues by probably 80%.Our walls are textured (sand textured in Milwaukee, orange peel textured in the western suburbs - yes, there is an actual dividing line), so we try to avoid the usual palm-sized patch and fill only the hole without making it bigger, so we can get away without texturing.