Also, I don't want to send a message to other tenants in the building (or other potential tenants in my farm area) that I am soft and they can get away with this going forward.

Do you know how much money you owe family, friends, hard money - soft money loans?

Well that's exactly how it will come across to your tenants, no matter how you "soft sell" it.That is a recipe for tenants to potentially make life difficult for you as an owner........can you imagine their friends and colleagues they talk with and their well meaning friends telling them how "unfair" it is that your landlord won't let them have pets.....but the landlord can?

It comes in a small jar with a brush like nail polish. 

The language in your note sounds soft and ambiguous.

There is a local underground referral system where the bad tenants actually tell other bad apples about a landlord being "soft" so they can be the next to take advantage and skimp on rent.

I calculate these are about 6 more tiles.The uncovered area feels soft.

My thought would be to at least have four properties (to my knowledge, this is the soft limit without going through portfolio lenders?)

Parts of my market are very soft.

I don't feel the need to have a million buyers at the ready and since I don't know my numbers as well as the seasoned rehabbers I go to them for a soft number.