That's the real short of it.Legal entity's such as LLC's provide no tax advantage unless investing with non-spousal partners (its the same tax, but needs to be split between the partners).My personal pet peeve is to remember that depreciation has to be paid back in taxes at nominally 25% to the IRS when you sell. 

This is my first rental property, I had it for a bit over a year. Today I got a call from the first floor tenant stating that there is a strong smell like dog/fish in her front porch. She moved the curtain she dad and...

The reason I'm glad is I have a nip smoking and no pet policy, they had pets and smoked a lot of weed and cigarettes.

Remove anything that you can throw away, destroy any urea crystals with a sprayed on pet enzyme cleaning product and encapsulate whatever is left with a strong primer.

They usually either travel alone or with a significant other (and a pet!)

For example, I mention that every adult must pay a $30 application fee, pass my credit/criminal background, make a combined income of 3x the rent, and whether or not the property accepts pets.

I'd cover it with the mesh cover and then put some sort of fence around the pool so a child or pet doesn't walk on top of it 

Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

Also you can see if they have unauthorized tenants, unauthorized pets, smoking, and so many other things.Screen well, don't take the first tenant necessarily unless it is the right one.   

The best designers, the best local eats, the best places to go, why people go there, pet friendly places, medical assistance, hospitals, police stations, shopping, parks, management companies, photographers, events, etc. you get the gist I’m sure there’s more.