That tenant was able to run up a $4K-$5K gas bill (that of course she wasn't able to pay), because law prevented the gas company from turning off the gas during the winter (because the tenant had a newborn and an elderly relative staying with her).The point is I agree 100% with Mike, Rich, and the others about tenants paying their own utilities.

I believe prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance.

I understand that my agent doesn't get paid until we close on a property and excluding her from the discussion on this potential deal would prevent her from getting paid.

Fleas love hiding in piles of dirty laundry.Treatment would be simple if they and their stuff were out of the apartment.To prevent this problem in the future, I will be putting pest control on the tenant in my leases (but continuing to spray the outside).Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The first pillar is avoiding unnecessary and risky activities (don't drink and drive, insurance generally wont cover your poor decisions) and take good care of your investments - these simple steps will help you prevent lawsuits before they even occur. 

@Tobias Falzone Maybe something under $460 to prevent a jumbo loan so maybe i couldn't afford duplex since i don't want to buy cheap one that will not rent out and have more headaches. 

And better yet, to have your team do it so they are able to learn and prevent those issues going forward? 

I think you would be ok if your lease states that tenant must run A/c periodically to prevent humidity in unit.

This would prevent easy entry for someone who has that code after hours.The system also allows me to lock, unlock, arm and disarm the system remotely as well as see which door or window someone might have left open.

I would agree with this.I don't agree that equity in a house is "dead money" - it prevents you from paying interest on that amount if you borrowed on it and if the market ever does turn south it will be the investors with plenty of equity that will be in the best position to benefit as they can leverage that equity into more deals.