The yard looks terrible and there are other minor things that annoy me.I expected wear and tear on the property, but had hoped they would take better care of the house since they want to buy it. 

We as college people are young so you initially see a high cost of something or just take the attitude of "the market is terrible, it is a stupid idea".

And the service of these companies is so terrible and the homeowner's hands are tied." said Seluk.

People have told me it's a terrible idea (not just bad...LOL), but those people aren't any better off than I, so I take their advice with a grain of salt.

How do I do these things in order to make certain that I dont put myself in a terrible position?

I don't think it's so terrible, you just have to have a back like a duck's (-;, and be consistent in your decisions and policies.

This is a terrible time in the market to go after the appreciation model - as no one knows when that will ever come back.

I'd love to get a hold of a large investor/real estate targeted email list - we recently used a list management company that I've know for years to send out 100,000 emails and got a paltry 1.4% open rate - Terrible response.

I started investing in real estate in 2007 and since then I've had a terrible experience with a contractor and have talked to a lot of people who've had the same experience.

In my experience they are terrible.