We don't have a space in the home that could serve as an extra space to rent out. 

I have a little extra money sitting around that I would like to put to good use.   

Why spend extra weeks or months going to court when the law already provides a remedy?

Details below on our properties and our financial situation.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

I don't have so many rentals that I can't balance them, and I found that the extra ~1 hr/month (usually all year's time in 1 month) is worth it to have a pulse on your property, decide the specific repairs, etc.

I inherited three single-family homes and have been educating myself on the various details of real estate investing and will be active here on Bigger Pockets (as well as reading the book...) so once again hello and nice to be here. 

Not hacks exactly, yours were great....but I believe that the two most important are 1) Being super clean, you almost can't be clean enough, 2) Be unique.....Set yourself apart from the competition.Beyond that, just be fairly priced (esp on cleaning) and limit the extra charges, I always just pass when the fees start to add up....

Maybe there is a PM out there that has been through this and can offered more detailed advice. 

Let me know if you have any recommendations of people knowledgable that may be able to provide details to help mount a defense.