Now you can advertise it as having a sump pump to prevent future water damage when you can sell.

We self manage our properties, but we provide maintenance work for others rentals and pretty much all the property managers around here are mediocre. 

My conclusion is that take the provided ROI calculations from REI as purely estimates.

There is nothing in the law preventing you from answering that question.

Keep your pricing consistent, including pet fees and other charges, to prevent cleaners from adjusting rates unpredictably.

They help prevent after-sale tenant disputes or surprises about matters that originated with the former owner.

Best way to prevent flooding.

As a newbie, you always question whether you're making the right decision, but you just have to push forward after a certain amount of time to prevent analysis paralysis.

Do any of the tenants have Dogs (Breed restrictions are individual to each company).These may not prevent you from getting insurance but they may limit the number of companies willing to insure it.

I told him to pull out everything that might have gotten wet, get everything dry (to prevent mold), and make sure it was done right.