Also, I rented it for a period of time and learned how frequent repair requests from tenants can add up, especially in a cold climate area prone to pipe freezing.

All this was only the big stuff; the rest just added up: a fridge was freezing everything, a stove stopped working, a smoke detector had to be rewired, a faucet had to be repaired, the gutter had to be regraded (whatever that means) and on and on… I don’t understand it!

In my market we have to get a judgment to freeze their voucher from moving. 

Here in Georgia we've not hit the problem but the leases I have do contain a clause that if the temperatures go below freezing the tenants are required to allow faucets to "drip" during the night to prevent pipes freezing. 

This will give you some extra space in there to help prevent the freeze/thaw cycle if used in conjunction with the heat cord.

Homeowner and senior exemptions aren't going to change much but a senior freeze will drastically change the taxes and you don't qualify to carry that over

The cost to remodel the unit will be about $30,000 plus I will lose 3 months of rent = 34,500, but I will still be ahead by $54,000 in 10 years and then ahead more than $84,000 every other 10 years.The tenant called me and told me that the city of Long Beach is in the process of passing some rent control buillsh...t where if a landlord wants a tenant to move so the landlord can remodel an apartment the landlord has to pay the tenant $4500 and the city put a freeze on evicting tenants to remodel until the new rent control b.s. is finalized.

What’s the best way to prevent those pipes from freezing?

In the city of LA there’s been a rent freeze since the pandemic started, with no end in sight.

This was already an issue but a two year freeze on supply chain due to COVID further complicated the problem of housing.