The ^above^ may be less true, or may come off as harsh, if you're not in the SF Bay Area.

look  imma be a lil harsh here.. you shouldve accounted for inflation or increased premiums when you made your initial purchase.. its called proper underwriting. with that being said. some lenders allow for up to 5% ded and you should review your policy to make sure there are no junk coverage. also look at your market if we are at the top perhaps you should consider selling and 1031 your funds into an apartment deal as a passive investor

I hate to see anyone accept the harsh penalties and taxes that result from raiding a qualified retirement plan (QRP).

There are lot of good contractors out there , who work honestly , but the harsh reality is that th percentage is less .

My own house has a 3 year old boy, a dog, three cats, and I work in a Paint Shop so usually have some harsher chemicals on my shoes when I come home - I have yet to see any wear on the flooring in the year that we've had it.Pros:$2/sqftDurableUnderlayment pre-attached (if you choose to use that - I did and have had no issue, but have only been walking on the floor for a year so can't say how long it will hold up).Easy to install - grab a rubber mallet, a crowbar, and a flooring / table saw.

I know that sounds harsh, but they have every right to start enforcing the rules.

A lot of your peers starting out will try and force buying somewhere where it doesn't work, then end up pushed out the game in a harsh manner because of failing to calculate alternative options that will set them up for long-term. 

Was there a huge lawsuit in the 90's by Erin Brockovich in relation to an underground chemical "river" running through a specific neighborhood (Yup we have that)?

slumlord is a pretty harsh term, however, let's say-Its a rough neighborhood (some spray paint and busted windows on various bldgs)-A bunch of 2-4plexes on the block-the living conditions of current tenants is bad (partial electricity, no hot water, holes in windows and walls, rats)-some visible mold on a couple walls-doesn't seem to have had any management/maintenance at allOwner hasn't been able to sell for a few years.   

Not to be harsh, but as soon as you started to offer discounts and concessions to them, you were screwed.....they already figured out you are a weak landlord and they can walk all over you....sorry.... you set a bad precedent.Now they may have stopped paying rent and bailed anyway, but with your previous behavior, they smelled blood in the water and knew you were ripe to get bitten even more.Best you can do is start the paperwork for failure to pay, eviction and follow the law....recover the property and move on.Its always a dilemma about  going after the $$ they will owe you....huge hassle and you will never see the $$....but you let them off the hook with no record for the next landlord to find out about.....