I grew up in a Foreign Service family as well so I've never lived in one place for more than 3 years.We've always had real estate in the back of our mind but being overseas all the time we don't have roots in any one place in the US. 

Sod won't grow because of the shade and roots of the trees as the landscape company suggested.

Hello,I recently closed on a triplex and the apartments feels very chilly in winter weather proofing with a plastic cover sealing the windows  mitigated the issue little bit but I would like to get to the root of cause since even when thermostat is set at 80 it feels chilly,especially my lower two units are very cold despite a centralized ac system.Unfortunately I couldn't catch this during inspections since it was warmer weather around that time.I am now dealing with higher utility bills who are some professionals that I can get in touch with for solid weather proofing ?

I have a big tree in my rental property and its root start causing some issues.

Obviously there's a grass roots component here (along with the hotel lobbyist's obviously).I say this, in this tread specifically, not to play chicken little but to make potential short term rental investors in the Tucson, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Flagstaff and other communities aware of the fact that Arizona will not always be the "Airbnb Wild West" and to be prepared for the eventuality of STR regulations being imposed here, as is happening all over the country.Now, most of the regulations that I've seen that have been imposed have a grandfather component so getting in ahead of the "smack down" could stand to secure the value of your rental, but this has not always been the case, some places simply shut it down (Which I don't think AZ would do, if anything they'll just impose a permitting requirement as it shows good faith to the lobbyist's AND increases tax income).Also, government regulation isn't ALL bad, as it slows the influx of competition in an area, helping to keep prices from bottoming out.I say all that to say this.

Everyone else's recommendations of sloping the earth next to your walls away from the house (can be accomplished with flower beds near the walls - avoid plants w/ long roots like trees), adding/fixing gutters, extending roof overhangs, and subterranean drainage are all steps to take to decrease water infiltration.Nowadays we ideally insulate and waterproof our basements from the outside - but that's more work than it's worth for a flip.

Amazing time for buy-and-holders, but you do have to pity the generational tenants who are losing their roots. 

I know of many people that have now made Jersey their home - I actually have a tenant looking to buy in Jersey because he doesn't want to be a renter but he can't afford to buy in brooklyn yet brooklyn is where his roots are and where his family is.

My husband is currently in the Navy but separates next year at which point we will put down roots in the Denver area.

Capital expenditures include a variety of things that can happen in a house, like roots inside your sewer system, that are not considered regular maintenance.