You'll have a deposit and you can file a claim for anything not covered.

But these days, it’s hard to find decent properties where the numbers work as far as covering the debt service with rental income. 

Can try to reposition to Class B, but neighborhood may impede these efforts.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, but 15-20% should be used to also cover tenant nonpayment, eviction costs & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores of 560-620 (approaching 22% probability of default), many blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 2 years.

These require a minimum of $300-$335k cash to cover the downpayment, closing costs, and having a healthy budget for professional design/amenities.Tier 2 range in price but most fall between $530k-$650k.  

NOTE: A lower OER indicates a more profitable property as a larger portion of the income is retained after covering operating costs.Hope that helps!

Quote from @Tika Sanyasi: @Aristotle Kumpis: I was thinking of being the landlord and managing myself but, was wondering if the distance is too much to cover to do that.

It is always better to start with a multi-unit 2+ so that if something goes wrong, you still have one tenant to cover necessary expenses (mort, taxes, insur, etc).Also, major renovations are not a great idea for starting out as others said, especially out of state.

Long-term investment should cover income shortfalls and consider alternative markets outside San Francisco or affordable markets like Texas, Ohio, or Arizona.

Landlord shall be responsible for paying any Homeowners Association(HOA) dues and property taxes for the Property.I was wondering if I should add a additional rent clause for the sewer just so I have my base covered in case tenant try to get "smart" with the lease.I think you're fine if that's in your lease to bill them.

If you refinance the rental property, does the rent cover the expenses?