I have seen several homes damaged due to mold and/or warpage of doors because the owners didn't want to pay air conditioning bills.

Like Vince points out, with a sandwich if your TB doesn't pay and/or causes damage, you are on the hook.

Somewhere in the small print should be words to the effect: "testimonials are sponsored, and may not represent typical results", or some other disclaimer which is then supposed to put the author/s back in the "honest corner". ie.

You having a second lien of $200k has no effect on bidding or paying for your bid price.....no, you don’t get credit for it in any way.

i'm looking for the forum's advice on the most efficient/effective way of weeding out properties. i'll be living in the property for at least a year. while i live there, i'll be living in it (so property can't be a complete rehab), fixing or improving the property, and then either flipping or renting out the property. i've looked at about 18 properties the past 3 weekends (i just started 3 weeks ago). the 18 properties were chosen based on 2 broad criteria: 1) based on pictures, description, and google street view, choose properties close to the metra (in illinois), in a location with a great high school (>=8 score), and in nice(r) neighborhood.2) look at zillow for an idea on property values in the neighborhood so that i'm not buying one of the most expensive houses in the neighborhood. if i feel the house i'm looking at is somewhat undervalued because it needs work and there's some room for me to flip, then house passes.this criteria has helped me weed out 100's of properties, but takes me a bit of time.i'm curious, is this a good start or are there other ways that the full time/professional investors use?

This would have been the appropriate time for them to bring up the maintenance issues.The floor damage is a long-term issue yet they failed to report it until after you renewed.

I didn't want to evict during the winter as the damage was already done anyways, it cant get much worst then it is. 

Can it be done without their service, is it an efficient and effective method to collect data "real time" in one place with enough value to warrant the monthly fee?

If so how do you articulate your request to avoid the reverse effect?

Let the tenant know - in advance - that everything has been documented so they are less likely to steal or hide damage.The lease should cover lawn care and that the tenant is responsible for repairing damage from their pet, to include dead grass from pet urine.Have an eviction attorney in mind and start the eviction process at the first available opportunity.Any specific questions I can help with?