The guest stay with discount and toilet replacement did not cover the cost of the unit for the stay. i have the issue on occasion that the guest is expecting a bigger unit and thinks the price is high but they do not realize the value of the unit.  

(It sounds like you might have done that already) If you have a realtor in that market maybe ask them what the comps are for your unit to make sure it's not higher than you expect.

If the pipe is 50 years old and had a life expectancy of 30 years, they're going to argue it was due to lack of care on your part and try to deny the claim. 

I would not expect a meaningfully lower rate and pmt for likely several years. 

We got our required and expected profit that we calculated at the very beginning.

Here are some practical tips and insights based on my experience managing a real estate fund and working in this field.First, setting realistic expectations.

We had a client that bought in Port huron and then ended up selling their property because they went through 3 PMCs and gave up trying to find a great one:(Some copy and paste advice below:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

- Trying to meet the unrealistic expectations of newbie investors is tough/impossible for even the best PMCs!

If the marginal cost increase in buying a house that can be house hacked (a house with a basement, a duplex, etc.) is less than the rents you expect to bring in from renting the additional space, why not do it?

Expect rates to be higher with CLTV capped at 70%.