And yes tenants may not be as gentle as I'd like and I understand things can when there are kids living in the house.

am completely aligned with comment to Thomas on balancing leverage, especially as you semi retire.The mobile home interest rate of 8% is bit of twist....I would still probably not liquidate 401k, because you have tax benefit of writing off the interest. 

This is my first post so be gentle.

That is rule one for the lazy land lord buy small houses it means less work overall,So on to painting If you talk to any experienced old school painter they will tell you that you need to cut in. which is making a border around the ceilings and base boards.this is a very very important step for the lazy land lord because doing this step properly will allow you to use the roller much easier and quickly so you can get home to your couch and the game. but more important it will prevent you from getting paint on the ceilings which will need to be brushed in later brushing in paint on the ceiling is time consuming and tedious so avoiding paint on the ceiling is the lazy landlords first priorityMany old school painters will tell you to get a good cut in brush. but if you are not familiar with painting the cut in brush can take quite a bit of time, to get efficiently good results my solution buy a paint kit that comes with a cut in tool it should look like a rectangular plastic thing a ma jig that has little wheels on one sidethis device allows you to quickly do the border in record time.The secret I found to using this tool is to gently place it on top of your paint so it floats on the surface for about 2 seconds you dont want the wheels getting paint on themjust the applicator I didnt use the pole attachment I think the hand allows more control and gets you up close to the work.

If the tenant doesn't record, then it doesn't go on your credit.If I lose, I plan on paying immediately.Another twist I'll add to this story, is that I'm selling the house, and I should be closing escrow next week.

Also, you aren't required to like any laws you are required to follow, you just have to follow them, so gently exploring what is required of you, and asking questions, is well within your right (though, in this case, you cannot ask specifics about the condition the renter has).

There's also a twist you can offer him in a note carry situation that may sweeten the pot if he wants to purchase new property.  

They don’t have to be new and you can get some killer deals on gently used appliances from homeowners that are upgrading.

Thanks for sharing this post, we all need a gentle reminder from time to time; there are still dishonest people in this world smh...Jameen

I appreciate your twisting of the question and think it's a great way to look at it.