Here's a response to the article from American Housing Advocates:http://www.americanhousingadvocates.com/blog/2014/3/14/american-housing-advocates-respond-to-ny-times-articleThe article appears to be a public awareness piece.

If a cat is causing damage to your units, it's because the owner is doing something wrong such as not cleaning their litter box, not caring for the animal's health, and not getting it fixed.

It takes guts to publicly commit to do something in real time before you know if it will be a success or not.

Also look at their clothes - they don't need to be fancy or expensive, but they should be clean and appropriate for public.

It's very generalized and they don't look for code compliance or violations although most inspectors will point out obvious code violations such as missing plumbing cleanout or electrical outlet distance from floor etc...you should rely on an inspection to give you a general idea of the health of the property.

I hope you have a very health reserve account.

Your name does not appear in public record this way.

Unless your sites have totally different purposes, I would keep the information together.My site has a public area and a private area.

Zillow pulls from other public sites.

This is a good discussion of the rules.http://www.irs.gov/publications/p550/ch01.html#en_US_2013_publink100010016