I also wanted to scrape the popcorn ceiling that was dirty and covered in cooking oils. 

Both were chain smokers.

Enough money to buy healthy meals if you don't like to cook, etc.But the one thing I can't generate any more of is time.In the next post I'll outline how we made the money and how long it took (about 30 years), and the event of fortunate timing and good luck that started it (my grandmother pushing my parents to buy some apartments after the S&L crisis around 1990 - when banks could barely give complexes away and you could do 90% leverage deals).I'm the fortunate son of a grandmother who had a classic value investor's eye (even though she was trained as a nurse) and who started buying single family homes back in the 1950's and renting them out.

@Kevin Cook I guess we can thank my parents for the name spelling.

Asking someone if they know of any run-down properties makes you sound like a code violations officer or looking for somewhere to cook meth.

You might ask them if they did any cooking within a few days of the incident (really you want to know if they used it the day of, but if that's all you ask, they're likely to realize what you're getting and say no.)Whenever possible, I change over to electric - personal preference and they've been a lot more reliable for me.

From the addendum, it appears that a reason must be given, but it can be "renovation of the unit", which we'll have to do anyway since they are very heavy smokers and normal people wouldn't want to live there.  

Before slaving away your whole life to get 100 million when you're too old to enjoy it, I would read the book Lifeonaire. by Steve Cook and Shaun McCloskey.

Here's the update :4 showings today ; 3 duds and 1 in consideration :Here's the positives : 5-6 times rent income ; paid 2 months up front tonight plus deposit ($3400 total) ; solid jobs -- nothing bush league like before ; showed urgency of making sure I was a landlord that would fix things quickly when issues arriseNegatives : Both smokers ; not husband and wife (Bf/Gf) and a little odd / quirky couple.

@Clint Cook  The GOOD:-Guaranteed rent.