But he insisted that he had a side job which pays him in cash, so I have to make arrangements for him to call me the day he drops the rent in.The strange thing was, about a month or so after that, 2 months later, he's making noises about not needing the apartment.

Now that I'm back I'm ready to get on the grind and find a spot.

The kind that just make noise if they are separated.

Noise and construction could be an issue.

Also visiting the house, even if you just sit out front in your car can help you decide how bad the noise is.

I never post on the 'free' area (even though I can with my paid subscription) as the signal to noise ratio of the inquiries is hopeless. 

While past performance is not indicative of future results, it should not be ignored because people are nice or make a lot of noise.

Certainly you should expect quick responses to your questions and should be updated regularly on the level of showing traffic, but that's noise.

Aside from that, everything else is an uphill grind.

Additional inspections at first sign of any trouble (late rent, excessive number of visitors, unusual noise, etc.)