@Liz Lynn I would check with a local lawyer, of course, best practice would be a new one.As far as one for each property, I think that is excessive.

I did look up 1 Roseville zip code and there are 3,251 apartment units so there must be an excess of 8+ unit mulit-family as there is very little turnover on MLS.  36% of housing is Non-owner occupied in Roseville so there are a lot of rentals, but I imagine a big spread between single family rentals and large multifamily.I'm like everyone else on BP, looking for the best return on investment, securing retirement as you say, and trying to do it intelligently, and help others along the way too.The purpose of this forum was to see what areas other investors are seeing, where they are focusing efforts and whatnot.  

California charges a minimum tax of $800 a year per LLC, and more if you have gross receipts in excess of $250k.

I will say if they are being excessively noisy, politely asking them to reduce noise where possible would be reasonable.

Would a judge consider this excessive? 

Possibly using a professional third party vendor for the pre-inspection is a great idea, give a copy to the owner and tenantExcessive holes in wallsBroken tiles or fixtures in the propertyPlumbing backupsRepainting where a tenant has repainted from the original color Tears, holes, stains or burn marks in carpetsMissing or damaged blindsBroken windows and window screensBroken doors and locksBroken or damaged appliances Excessively DirtyPest control if you see Bugs and or fleasJunk or trash left behindPast Due rentFees incurred from fines from the association due to the tenants conduct or lack thereofWater damage to hardwood floorsMissing outlet coversRemotes for garage or gate if not returnedRekey of locks if tenants did not return the keysUnpaid utilities, as long as they were part of the lease agreement Undoing a tenant alterationThis is a sample of things that are usually considered to be normal wear-and-tear and should not be deducted from a security deposit:Slab or plumbing leakNormal rug wear.

California charges a minimum tax of $800 a year per LLC, and more if you have gross receipts in excess of $250k.

People who know way more about REI than I do seem to think that things are quite different than just a few years ago, and that having a good job and excess cash is very prudent right now, and a safeguard for when you do buy your first property.

Long winded goals shortened, I will be done with pay checks in 3 - 5 years and live off rental income, 8 - 10 years have a large excess of cashflow most people would squander, take 5 years off to travel then come back and start a non profit funded by my rentals that designs and creates prosthetics for injured animals.Most of my friends and my now ex gf would role their eyes at me when I would talk about my goals.

There may be a state plan of last resort (often called a FAIR Plan) or an Excess/Surpus market (iel Lloyds of london or similar) that can provide coverage.