If people see the owner paying for his/her drinks they’re less inclined to steal theirs.

They have numerous evictions, a theft record, the good tenant says they steal her stuff and their kids pull pieces of the house off (siding corners), and best for last, when they failed to pay the electric and it got turned off, they switched the meters, which of course is dangerous and put the good tenant in a mess with the electric co that was sending her the bills!!!

I thought great, we haven't found the perfect rental yet and I won't have to make the drive again.My broker says not to trust them, that they will steal my commission if I am not there for it but that if I have it in writing (via email) that the agent understands I am representing them and will be entitled to my portion of the commission if they rent the unit.Do you think this is enough protection?

Most are crooks.

Check hudhomestore if there is a steal in your market maybe you can take advantage of the owner occupied time period and really have an advantage.Good luck, its a good time for you to house hack. 

What he’s probably doing is allowing other tenants to use your internet which is essentially stealing.

Poor quality workmanship can really drive down the ARV on something, especially if it is important ie electrical, plumbing or obvious to the casual observer, ie crooked tile work.

To me, this sounds like the seller is literally STEALING the buyer's future appreciation profit by charging him/her up front and cashing in on the future appreciation of an asset they didn't help to improve.

ONe last thing  keep in mind even though you think yourself a hard working honest person etc etc and I am sure you are.. with a nice family etc.the person whose home your trying to get will view you in a completely different light.to them your a greedy no good investor trying to steal their home and kick them out.. your thinking you have been wronged here.. and you DESERVE something..

Gear it towards cash flow instead of having to steal it on price.