NEVER accept a pre-qualification letter...it's only slightly less useful than used toilet paper.

Sure I can call up a plumber to fix a toilet or contractor to replace a garbage disposal.

In that situation the tile matched the counter really well and my new tenants really liked having a place they could set hot pans next to the stove.

I like the idea of the tax benefits of actually owning income producing real estate )as opposed to REITs), but if I have to screen tenants and answer calls about leaky toilets it does not make sense to me. 

Sounds like you have a leak or a toilet that won't stop running. 

You might have a few dripping faucets and a toilet running occasionally costing you a few hundred extra per month.  

Any Realtor will tell you that the value of preapproval can be toilet paper or it can be gold, it depends on the LO.

We did a full round of interviews with several carriers about 36 months ago, and chose Berkshire based on that research-which obviously didn't pan out!

To your last point - yes, the tenant could end up doing a ton of laundry, taking hour-long showers, and double tapping on the toilet to run up our water bill.

Hi Cassandra,The make washing machine drip pans that vent outside.They come in both metal and plastic.Good Luck!