State laws will prevent him from doing anything "magical" anyway.

@Ladè BaruwaBe careful of spreadsheet magic.

Is she supposed to magically come up with $10,000 in 3 weeks?

He magically came up with the $1,500 payment plus the $50 service fee.

Let's see here....1) A few weeks prior to tenant move-out I send them a cleaning checklist as well as the two pages they signed listing damage and cleaning fees2) I use the same paint colors in all my properties.3) My Clean Magic Erasers are amazing and will remove wall scuffs and random stains. 4) When buying larger items I utilize the Lowe's 10% off trick (spending .99 on eBay to buy a Lowe's 10% off digital coupon and using the code online or in store - this hack has literally saved me thousands).5) At my multi-family properties I include various items near my coin-op washer and dryer: a laundry  table for folding, a roll of paper towels and a bottle of cleaner so the machines can be wiped off; I also include some laundry-related items such as stain remover, starch spray, etc (I buy it from Dollar Tree and it lasts a while - I think the tenants appreciate the gesture). 6) At the Dollar Tree they have a toilet cleaning gel product called Lime-A-Way.

I guess the main reasons I’d want to keep the house are 1) ego - to be able to say “I own a rental property” and 2) hope for things to magically turn around and one day sell for profit (gambling...)What would you do in my shoes?

I have a preference for Burner, the voice quality is much better than Magic Jack.

Next month it was magically back up there.

You have not found some magical loophole.

Run the numbers and read all you can on the financial side and make sure the numbers work for you...Also, keep in mind:The rents can creep up over time Your property generally appreciates over timeYour debt decreases (as the tenant pays off the mortgage)And if you get a decent property and manage it well, you can keep costs in check.So you see the slow motion magic formula at work--rents going up, property value going up and debt going down....Maybe let's get in the DeLorean and time travel--set the dial for ten years ahead Doc!