It sounds like the plumber took advantage of the situation. second… Many property managers wouldn’t know much difference between a hammer or a screwdriver so expecting them to go assess the situation is not practical.

I work for a property management company in Indianapolis, and in our practice, we only charge a monthly management fee when rent is being collected.

"Is it a common practice to report it as a loss even though I fixed it out of my own pocket?" 

They're not required for single-member LLCs, but it is best practice.

Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice.

Anyone reading this thread should make it a point to read your state's real estate contract practice book or at minimum pull a list of all C.A.R. forms from the internet and read the title of each form and pick a few to read line by line to begin understanding the contract language. 

Yes, this is quite a common practice for professional PM companies.

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?

It seems very useful, practical and resourceful.

The problem is a gun just like any external weapon can give the person carrying it the false sense of superiority.It amazes how many people practice with a gun yet a gun is not allowed in a ton of places nationally.