He is awesome and I attribute most of my understanding of success/goal setting to him.

There is also one lawsuit involving a fall that the plaintiff attributes to construction defects on a wooden walking path through the common area.

We have allowed tenants to bring their chattel (fridge, stove, laundry), but require that all modifications to the property (repair or improvement) be approved by us and performed by a tradesman/service personel we have sanctioned.We always pay for the improvements ... for small, reasonable, things we typically attribute it to "happy tenant" and absorb the cost.

I attribute it mostly to poor marketing.

He told me (which I already knew to do instinctively and thanks to reading here at BiggerPockets, but good to be reinforced) to put together a lending package that included: 1) a cover letter explaining the credit history; 2) an "About Me" profile on myself, explaining how my career experience and other factors will translate to success as a a local income property investor and property manager; 3) an "About My Team" profile demonstrating that I have the network and support to succeed.I am fortunate to have a kick*ss team and, frankly, a similarly strong toolkit of personal attributes that don't necessarily ensure success but make it a helluva lot more likely.

IMHO, though, its a mistake to attribute that income to the property.

- Get rid of all personal items and all family pictures (just neutral furniture and accessories)- Turn on lights before every showing- Open blinds before every showing- Create a flyer with all positive attributes of the house/neighborhood/area/etc- Make sure it smells nice- Paint your front door (it's the first thing the buyer will notice of the "interior"- Leave on a stereo or iPod with speakers playing some soothing/popular music

And that may be fine as there is more to life than making money, but money sure is nice.They lack the attributes, drive, education, social skills, technical proficiency to be more successful, it's not the industry, it's more about human nature. :)

My best performing property is just outside of these areas but it has other attributes that help it along.

If you acquire a multi-family property and move into and live in one of the units the gain attributable to that one specific unit would still qualify for the 121 Exclusion ($250,000/$500,000 tax free exclusion) and the rest of the gain would qualify for 1031 Exchange treatment.