ThanksTexas has an implied warranty of habitability that appears to mean a rental must be dry, heated, with flushing toilet, etc.

We prefer not to have pets but do a through screening of tenants and pets so hopefully avoid some of the excessive damages by getting good owners.

There had once been a leak from a drain stopper ball on the p-trap, they called it an active leak even though it was dry and clean.

This place has bled me almost dry trying to do the right thing and hold on to it.

They take what they feel are comps and sort of average the price after adjusting for differences, then add a factor for excess or less Sq footage.So if 6 close comps sold for an average of $100K and averaged 1500 sq ft, all else equal, they would start at 100K then if the subject property was say 1650 ft they would add like $20-25 per foot for the additional 150 ft.

Not to say that is a bad thing, but it has not been effective for me.I'm not sure why, but craigslist really seems to have dried up as a serious consistent buyer source.

So, it is a liability UNLESS it produced income in excess of the expenses.

At some point, the attorney will either find you, or the trail will run dry.

@Mark Ferguson Since I live and work in the Tri-Town area I consistently look for cheaper properties in the area and I can say they have been drying up in the past two years.

However, that amount of excess is recent due to my wife becoming full time where she works, so no nest egg built up yet.