When there's a secure area (like a back yard) I'm all for adding a picnic table and nice outdoor furniture (a guy who owns a coffee shop gave me all his outdoor chairs and tables when he bought new ones and so I reward good tenants with nice backyard outdoor furniture). 

An opportunity to talk shop, ask questions.

Definitely try a local insurance broker who can shop multiple insurances to find you the best policy.

Services that you 'can't shop for' are a rip off.

Always open to talk shop about long-distance investing.

As a result the EBITA (earnings before interest taxes amortization) multiplier for selling/valuing a brokerage shop is VERY low (compared to a buying a manufacturing company for example). 

If you call one of the big local shops you will be scared by the price to treat ($1500 or so).

If you're out of town you might look into getting a Realtor that doesn't get a penny unless your place gets rented to solve the immediate problem of getting funding.For long term solution I would guess your property manager might be your problem and I'd consider shopping around for a new PM.

Here's some questions you can ask and things to consider when calling around: What You Need to Know When Shopping for a HELOC. 

By the time I got the rehab done, rental in place, and started shopping again, the six months came around quickly.