They can have a little garden area, or have a barbecue, all of the things you can't normally do or enjoy in an apartment.I found them to be really easy to rent out.

Garden-wise, I'd take all of that hedging away in front because it distracts from, rather than highlights, the front entry you want to make inviting.  

that garage is an eye sore. need to tone that down. do this:add shutters to the front window, match that color with the garage and front door paint. it needs one mature plant, ideally, something with color (blue evergreen garden variety (dwarf size). nice buy. ideally, garage door could be made to look like a wood stain, and shutters match.

My daughter's PM nightmare was that they called everything an emergency, and emptied her account of thousands of dollars without notifying her - until they called her to tell her she needed to put more money in the account.Most will use their own maintenance guys, charge you ridiculous amounts of money for repairs, also charge you to supervise the repairs, charge you to find a tenant, charge you to get rid of the bad tenant they got you, and even charge you to fire them.Just really look over the contract, and negotiate anything you don't like.OR - take some time to find a good handyman or a list of plumbers, electricians, gardeners, etc., and just make those phone calls yourself and save the PM fees.I'm sure you'll hear from investors here who have great managers.  

They've been known to eat the floors, eat the walls, chew the doors, bust through doors, tear out screen doors / windows, dig up your garden...

Many days passed, and the tenant was having a barbecue in the backyard (with the dangerous tree), and a gardener and the PM showed up to trim the tree. 

When you interfere with someone's right to access a natural resource that was created through an easement, you are liable for damages.The problem is that we simply do not know why the individual is getting the oleander from the other's garden.

Replace a leaky garden hose. 

Having rentals is like having a garden. 

It’s hard to compare the walled garden of a chain hotel with a house in Oakland, no matter where it is.