The author also writes: "But it is unclear to me why borrowers should bear any special moral burden to carry the cost of these sorts of systemic externalities.

Driveways and walkways get slick when wet and you create a safety hazard.Skylight / soloar tubes bring external light inside passivelysee http://www.lowes.com/pd_134344-58-ZTR+014_0__?

I found termite damage (intentionally and well hidden) around an external wall and window.

We saw this article and the external link to the interactive map (https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/25-single-family-rental-markets-predicted-highest-growth-2017/).

Unless I get an external manager to handle it and buy it through an LLC?

If the brick is unable to dry out sufficiently, the water content - particularly in the outer wythe - will freeze and cause the brick to spall or crack.These walls are often 2-3 wythes of brick thick, so the external face can be in pretty rough shape and the wall still have sufficient structural integrity to carry the load of the building.  

If you have an external masonry wall, which is exposed to the conditioned space of the unit, then you have very negligible insulation and a massive thermal conduit between conditioned and unconditioned spaces.You would be doing far better by your future tenants to insulate this wall than worry about loosing 2-3" of living space or the aesthetics of a brick wall.Where this is a masonry wall - first confirm if it is a single wythe or 2 (or possible 3) wythes of brick (with a air gap/drainage plane between the outer wythe and the inner).  

Obviously, they handpick who they give us for references, but if you can find someone you trust who will recommend a turn-key provider, that's a huge plus.

Hi, first time on Bigger Pockets came across the site purely by accident.My problem is this I currently have a property management company in place and have been with them for over 4 years over the last 3 years we have not really made a return on our investment due to what can only be described as a high volume of repairs which are carried out  by the conpany and not with external contractors. 

@Bob Bowling I actually agree with you that any advertised or external cap rate is close to useless.