Operations- tenants refusals, either cull them before they get to you by requiring autopay as an example, document on their application why you refused them, make sure your facilities are maintained properly and no safety hazards exist, etcLLC.

The difference between a safety line and a safety net is that a safety net (your words) can break one line and still hold a fish. 

For my thesis, I'm conducting research into the practices and motivations of small landlords in Ontario to explore how various social and economic factors influence their business strategies, day-to-day property maintenance, and tenant interactions.Could anyone refer me to someone who might be interested in participating?

Definitely go the legal route here, don't rent out the basement unless you have the OK from the relevant authorities--it's regulated for a reason (fire safety, carbon monoxide poisoning, etc.) and your insurance will not have your back if something goes wrong.

Should the property garner no interest from their buyer list, their Realtor list, their social media posts, their offering on BP, LinkedIn, FB, various property investor websites, yard signs, etc. then they would probably be willing to share their fee.  

For the most part its just health and safety items, which are items we should have remedied anyways.As someone else mentioned, biggest thing to avoid is having the house tagged as vacant which the city will do if it sits empty for too long (handful of months, grass not cut, etc).

For that extra psychological safety of handling a that multi-M upscale luxury property transaction maybe worth it, but that's not your market. 

How social media, computers Zillow, Redfin, Bigger Pockets has turned real estate into such a POPULAR way to make money!

He lives in Oregon and if you see his social name, you get why you need to confer with him right away.

Read our copy & paste advice below on better screening for a PMC.Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.