Owning the property you take the neighbor complaints, the risk of alot of people who could make liability claims if they get injured and you have a tenant who doesn't live there and may or may not maintain the standards you want.

That should provide all the protection you need from a tennant sueing you type situation to one where you drive your car into a doctors car, or other high earning professional, and he sues you for a year lost wages since they got injured and cant work.

We eventually evicted them for non payment of rent but they sure made things difficult before we got them out of there.At one point they broke the basement steps & tried to work themselves into a payday with the husband claiming he injured his back when he fell on the broken steps.

Landlords who violate codes are frequently fined and are held on criminal charges when someone gets injured. 

Either way, most city's health codes require the landlord to address pests, then it is just a matter of if the tenant can be charged.Regarding the garage door sensors, this is a potential safety issue and needs to be fixed, so tenant isn't injured and sues you.

If someone was injured on site and did not have proper coverage I think it could be devastating.  

For me, debt is a tool, but its a sharp one that can injure you if you take too many chances with it. 

The allegedly injured party intentionally limited their claim to the policy maximum because they knew I would fight the claim if it went over the coverage and made us personally liable. 

For instance, a person doesn't get to stop making their car payments if they are injured and unable to drive anymore.

Board looks at such things as:- who directs the work- are they insured- do they work for anyone else- who supplies tools & materials- how are they paid (Hourly, weekly, by contract, etc.)Using that info and other things, the workers Comp. authorities will make a determination of whether or not the injured party was an Employee or Independent at the time of the loss.