She again worked with the tenants next door and their landlord to get it removed and disposed of as we can't have rotting animals in the backyard in the middle of the city, honestly I don't even know how that would have ended up there. 

Caulk isn't used to patch drywall because it is very soft when it dries. 

How do I narrow down my ROT's from state to state.

Instead they've somehow been brainwashed into rinse-dry-repeat formulas that lack foresight.

in the last picture with the white PVC drain lines, the floor joists don't look too great but its always hard to tell in pics but there could be some rot or pest damage there. 

When the storm broke and search and rescue found him he was leading his companion out in perfect shape, warm, and dry, on the trail home in a fairly bad storm.I always told them the truth. 

Mainly, because structural issues can be a complete black hole of money, time, effort--and it can be very difficult (and costly) to anticipate just how much money, time, and effort they'll consume.First, you'll need to figure out what's causing the structural issues--it could be settlement at the footers caused by ground water, it could be wood rot or termites in a beam, it could be masonry degradation caused by water coming off the roof, it could be improper drainage of the roof, it could be tree roots degrading the foundation, it could be a plumber who cut out a critical joist to install a line 20 years ago, it could be improper construction, it could be any or all of those things, and it could be any number of other potential causes.

If you notify the other owner that their tree is a dangerous tree ((ie it is rotting, dead, etc and endangers your property) and then it falls and damaged your property you have a cause for action against the other owner if they knew the tree was dangerous.  

If they continually kill deals they will get a reputation and the Realtor referrals will dry up and they will have little work.

They will let you hang to dry.