If they argue over what is a common area violation I enforce my policy on what is allowed in common areas.

I can’t argue on the taxes being high or the fact that NY isn’t landlord friendly but we do great here in Westchester. $40,000 is a pretty good amount and can be a 5% down payment and closing costs on a two family in a great neighborhood in Westchester where your taxes and expenses would be covered.

Some other good books that I have liked are  Million Dollar RE agent by Gary Keller, Million dollar investor by Gary Keller, and The Abcs of Commercial Real Estate investing by Ken McElroy. 

But to people that never lived in an older house or had to think about lead paint they may be scared by it and that could devalue the property unless you show it was fully remediated, at which point I would argue your property is worth more than other old houses as you can sell it as a value add that the house is guaranteed lead paint free unlike the competition of older houses.Wonder what we find out about next that we have been using for years and becomes illegal in the future when we learn it's killing us!

Hopefully an electrician friend.Don't argue, don't say anything, she's recording.

Because it’s a basement it can be argued that the space infiltration can come from the space above which is occupied and thus has a diminished outside air percentage. 

Said another way, my concern would be my claim is that the smoking is being done in the house while the tenant / guest would argue it is not happening in the house, rather the smoking devices are just laying around overnight which contributes to a slight odor in the morning but not enough to support the claim actual smoking is happening which would be a silver bullet for Lease violation.Let me know if the above makes sense or if I can provide additional information for clarification!

You're never going to be able to argue effectively that the tenant did it through negligent behavior.

I call and argue with him.

I suspect you could argue you do but it’s just another hurdle to jump over.