I hate doing dishes and it is additional punishment to look up at a wall while doing them. 

I would also consider deals in smaller centers that are satellites to larger cities (ie Leduc to Edmonton, Shediac to Moncton, Truro to Halifax, etc.)

There are still clothes in the closets, books on the shelves, and dishes in the sink among other things.

Also a trick I learned from the BP podcast... get some alone time with the tenant and ask them to dish on the property.

I have been blessed with 30 days off from my normal W2 Job and in stead of traveling abroad, scuba diving with Nemo or search for the greatest food dish, I plan to dedicate the time I would be working into learning about Real Estate.

My thought to circumnavigate this issue is to have someone run it for me while I am gone (Preferably a family member) and/or possibly buy a satellite phone to call and text anytime to maintain the property.

How do we claim a deduction for small items like dishes, a lamp, or decorations.  

I learned about the importance of HOA reserves the hard way; if an HOA is low on reserves, you may end up having to dish out a much higher down payment.

If they both say no you’re stuck with dish and fake Internet.

But assuming due to plastic components and its age, the tenants informed me today that for the last few uses the dishes are not as clean, and they also noticed there is now rust left on the silverwares.It is an old dishwasher, but is otherwise functional.