Beyond GOI and NOI, beyond cap rates and IRR, beyond unbreakable contracts and magic spreadsheets, you still have tenants that hate being ignored and refrigerators that break on Christmas Eve, floor drains that get clogged, faucets that break, handymen that sabotage your place because they know they'll never see you, and pesky leaks that just keep on cropping up.

So, remove any photos, knickknacks, toys, refrigerator art, and anything else that seems personal to you.Declutter and make room, having less items around the house will open up a buyer’s mind into seeing the home’s features and its most optimal space available for use.Define rooms as much as possible, having each room with a purpose.

In a four family, you have 4 refrigerators, ranges, at least 4 toilets and tubs, potentially 4 water heaters, furnaces, maybe AC units, that are your responsibility, and even if inspected does not guarantee they won't go out next month.House hacking is a great way to save money, but remember you are still a landlord and real estate owner.  

Neither the agent nor the reporter have a clue what a messed-up house looks like.First rule of house flipping …Never open the refrigerator 😱😱😱

I have to buy a refrigerator, 2 living areas, 2 dining areas, 3 bedroom sets, 3 TVs, dishes, pots, pans, silverware, etc. 

Some homes cost $8,000 to $10,000 and one home in Idaho cost me $18,000 because the tenant destroyed every plumbing fixture, kitchen cabinets, stove, refrigerator, granite counter tops and it took several days to trim trees, etc.So, we lose 1 month of unpaid rent $2300 + $8,000 to put the house back together + 30 days to complete the repairs + 30 days to re-rent the house $4600 for loss rent + your tenant owe the utility companies $800 = $15,700 and this is if you are lucky and can do the work yourself.

Since some AC refrigerants are now illegal to use it is absolutely necessary to replace entire systems.It the tenant paid $6,000 to install the furnace only a few months ago then the tenant may have a chance of suing the owner to recover her money and if a court favors the tenant then the owner is wrong and should have done what was right before it went to court.I've owned rental properties for more than 50 years and there has been a few times that tenants did repairs without my knowledge and then sent me the bill.

@Keith Miller A kitchen consists of sink, stove, and refrigerator. if you have 2 out of the 3 it isnt a kitchen.

Tenants refrigerator stopped working.

For most of the homes the carpets alone were $3200 to $4900 plus two coats of paint on every wall and ceiling, replacing broken bathroom sinks, kitchen sinks, faucets, repairing air conditioners, replacing cracked times on roof 36 feet high, bringing in 4 to 8 tons of rocks to make the yards look nice, trimming trees, repairing sprinkler systems and the piping, replacing refrigerators, stoves, washing machines clothes dryers, water heaters, painting garage floors ceilings and walls, bringing in 20-yard trash bins to remove all the carpets, trees trimmings and trash left by tenants, replacing all the window blinds, door knobs that are broken and locks for the main door and locks for the garage door so the keys match, repairing garage door openers that are broke, repairing the garage door rollers and seals, painting the trim outside the house, replacing facia boards that are 36 feet high, replacing window screens and the screens on sliding doors, replacing entire windows just because tenants broke the window locks and they cannot be repaired, replacing kitchen counter tops that are destroyed, replacing all the kitchen doors and drawers because tenants destroyer the cabinets by hanging their wet laundry in the kitchen cabinet doors to dry. replacing garbage disposers, dishwashers and the list goes on and on.