Dogs, cats, iguanas, pot belly pigs, it does not matter.

Dirt everywhere, kitchen floor tiles and counter broken (as if someone was in a rage and banged some heavy pots on them), the bathroom vanity was destroyed, the front lawn was green and quite nicely looking yet they let it go dead even when we were paying for the gardener.

To add a monkey wrench in the works, the men who live in the next door condo are smoking pot. 

I'm planning to just pressure wash and then spray paint my rockers and bench swing over the summer.. any recs on paint, folks?

At the end of the day its just a pot of money to pay for things that don’t seem to go right!  

Let's say that a leprechaun's pot of pure 24K gold weighs 100 lbs, 20 lbs. for the pot, 80 lbs for the gold, just enough to be almost impossible to steal.

My advice to a beginner investor is to add bench strength by finding a trusted advisor(s).

Ask around for leads on property managers that are getting tired because they may be willing to hand their contracts over to you or sell them real cheap.That should be enough to make you pee or get off the pot.

Once I fixed everything I already had all the furniture, silverware, pots, pans, etc., so I thought what the heck. 

My recommendation is to find a realtor who works with seasoned investors to help you navigate the process and to add bench strength to your search.