I love it when people withhold material information and yet want binary answers.

Tenant also agrees to the following:-All drains, waste pipes, and plumbing are accepted as clear by Tenant at the time of occupancy, and any material blocking them after occupancy shall be repaired at Landlord’s cost, unless determined by repair person that such blockage occurred during the time Tenant controlled the Premises and due to some fault or negligenceCOVENANTS OF LANDLORD.

You could start there when it comes to finding out more about build quality and the types of materials used in the homes. 

How do people who acquire and manage STR's track the time for their Active Material Participation activities? 

We had to replace all the plumbing ($3400 in materials), we did all the work.

@Usman Khan Yes, you can apply the short-term rental tax loophole to the STR units (80%) in your triplex if you meet the material participation requirements and have average stays of less than 7 days.

I am doing this completely remotely, which has been a massive pain/lesson learned (topic for another day).I signed a very high-level agreement (i.e. expectations simply say "drywall and paint") with him for drywall and paint work at my home for a total of $10KI have paid $5K as a down payment as well as ~$2K in materials over time, as neededThere have been multiple break-in's in the home, and he has done me favors of working with the police, and boarding things up.

Inflation: While real estate is often seen as a hedge against inflation, the rapid increase in costs for materials and labor has made new developments and renovations more expensive, squeezing profit margins.3.

Smaller properties are cheaper to update or can use higher quality materials.

The industry found better ways to make pop cans aluminum versus metal, recycling became more common and 35 years later, you don't hear about this anymore.