And the metro area has barriers to entry, in regards to building housing such as a notoriously slow permit process, environmental constraints, geography constraints, transportation constraints, etc.

@Pamela LEE REO agents are notorious for poor service because they are often on a super low commission structures with the bank(s) in return for repeat business.

I would assume the day you move out a property you can no longer be legally refinanced as an owner occupant, but maybe there is some sort of grace period or lenders that are notoriously lax in checking on these details. 

First and foremost, you must provide your tenants with a safe living environment.The landlord in this case is facing up to 20 years of prison due to his negligence.

I visited several museums- one in Warsaw to remember the 1944 uprising in Poland, but the one I'll never forget is the the ex KGB prison and headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Are they required, under penalty of fine or prison, to fully disclose the nature of their transactions?

Forcing people to pay in with the threat of prison or excessive penalties would be considered extortion in the private sector.

I recall that there was a TV show where service animals were being trained by convicts in prison, and most of the dogs were larger breeds (think Labrador Retriever).And these should be called "service animals", not pets.

That alternative is increased EFFICIENCY.The government is notoriously bad at doing things efficiently (we all joke about the DMV, but it really is pretty indicative of how the government runs things).

The documents must be notarized or they are fake, there is no notary that would take the chance of spending 15 years in prison per occurrence to sign them.