Signing the lease demonstrates they agree to the terms and then you can hold them accountable.If you don't do this, then the person named on the lease and paying the rent could disappear and you would have no legal authority to charge the remaining three for unpaid rent.

I won't be able to make the cottage legal rental without living in the primary home myself.

I am wondering if anyone has ever taken legal action against property managers, and if they think we have a potential case? 

Hello Doug, I am not a real estate attorney nor is this legal advice.Unless someone's state has specific laws banning contract assignments you should be fine doing the following.  

Quote from @Shaun Ng: Hi, I recently have a legal name change, and I own 2 rental properties in Fairfax county, VA.

You can't legally deny a true service animal.

Trying to match the color that is already on the wall is just about impossible, even with left over paint from the initial painting.

I think new builds don't really work from an ROI standpoint, but if you can find properties that have easy ADU conversions then the value might be there.I'm in MA and we just made ADUs legal by right, so I'm looking into the best ways to add value using them.

My humble advice to anyone attempting to do creative finance is:Creative finance is for experienced investors who have access to capital if anything goes wrong.Learn the lawsDon't use a contract "off the internet", laws vary by state and are also regulated on a federal levelLearn the financing techniques correctlyDon’t skip parts of the processDon’t ever do a “kitchen table” closingUse the proper deedAn attorney can help you with the legal work, but the rest you are on your ownYour guru will not bail you out“Investing” in someone else’s deal by providing a small 2nd loan so the “investor” can pay for “cash to the seller” and for “closing costs” so he can do the deal is a very bad planKnow what problems can ariseLearn the responses and solutions to problems before they are neededKnow everything there is to know about Title and what that meansKnow who a "protected class" individual isLearn the "back doors"Learn human natureUnderstand timelinesUnderstand regulation enforcement (some of these "mistakes" have a 10 year statue of limitations ( they can charge you 10 years AFTER you do the transaction) and carry hefty fines and possible imprisonmentThe court doesn't accept "I didn't know" for an answer"Know that the source of the lead plays a serious role in some states and federallyKnow how much of a "profit" pushes the boundaries to invite an investigationYou can be sued by the seller if you don’t do things correctlyYou are automatically at fault if an investigator or attorney or regulator gets involved.

This used to be a near-impossible task for a company like BiggerPockets, but technology and 3rd party solutions are getting better.