We have a lease clause that plumbing issues caused by the tenant that are not the result of a mechanical or material defect in the plumbing material are billed to the tenant.

Have a good lease with "teeth" - late fees for late rent, occupancy rules, pet rules and etc. - and do not violate your own lease by being too easy, or very quickly you will not have any lease at all and your tenant(s) will do whatever they want at your expense. 

Every contact I needed for insurance, mortgage and cleaners were done online, mostly through connections from BP. 

I've seen rental units get leased with iPhone photos that have good lighting. 

While I agree the rent by the room strategy can be great if you know how to manage it well, from a lending perspective, a lot of 30 year DSCR note buyers won't allow properties with individual room leases, so it could make refinancing more challenging. 

If they’re month to month you don’t need to evict, just don’t renew their lease. 

Both are on the lease.  

Higher-risk tenants are inspected at least twice a year.You also need to know what you will do if you find a lease violation or other problem during the inspection.

Would the landlords out there recommend providing extermination service to make tenant happy, or remind her that the home was rodent free at beginning of her lease.

Most importantly right now is getting it leased as it has been vacant so long and will be hard to lease until March.