We've had a lot of 'unskilled' laborers do no-call no-shows, sick calls, or just quitting the day of work.

I don't mind exterior/walk-around and/or basement but I'm sick of having to show interior of each apartment.

You're the business that keeps accepting overqualified applicants for key positions and keeps losing them to headhunters because they have so many options other than working for your stingy self.So I guess my slumlord bonafides are now fully on disply with this post, but I'll continue treating my tenants like human resources to be fully exploited to the best of my abilities (just like a corporation), and you can keep on looking for exemplars of the finest past conduct to fill your vacancies (people whose next step is buying a house when they get sick of renting, with their good credit and excellent record), and we'll both do well in our market segments, you in your clean Canadian suburbs, me in my Rust Belt ghetto cesspits.Frankly, if I had a tenant applicant show up with the kind of clean record you're looking for where I own low-income rental properties in the 'Burgh, I'd immediately suspect identity theft.

Plain and simple.  

What happens if you buy another property like that.. now you are in the hole $1000 a month.Sure your net worth would be higher in the end, but what happens if you lose your job, get injured sick etc... you now likely lose that property.  

He determined that the backside of the property is in a flood plain and will more than likely need to remove one side of the wood privacy fence and replace with chain link.The thing is that the house is not technically in a flood zone.

The competitive properties were mostly plain vanilla.

On the listing side I never negotiate the HVAC, waterheater or roof as you can plainly see them without any sort of inspection.On small properties like you are describing, in our area, MD/DC/VA, the age of them does not really affect the value of the property.

However, I'm also in strong agreement with the licensed ccw approach too. if at all possible, bring the person and the ccw. make sure you bring someone that will have your back and can assist you if necessary. being able to identify the perp after they've battered/killed you is important in the eyes of justice, yet its not really preventative. hopefully most realize the difference. if someone has malicious tendencies towards a real estate agency/sales people, r.e. investor its the preventative measures that could save your life and that matters most. the reality is as many people that are in prison...there are a lot of sick people loose in the public of anytown usa. we all have access to phones to try to dial 911 but the opportunity may not be available. self-defense is first priority in my book.kudos,Mary 

My dad has been sick over the past 18months and I put a pretty significant amount of savings into helping to cover costs.