You can toy with the lease length too.In some of my properties we're going forward with soft increases because our tenant base has shown an ability to absorb it.

They posture loudly, however drunk or high they are, and this is when you should be calling the police and having them hauled off for trespassing and terroristic threats.If you are not local and are trying to run D-class properties long distance and nicey-nicey, well, thoughts and prayers.

And once, a kid stuck some toys down one. 

We had a tenant who had snuck one in and she got busted when the owner (who did his own maintenance) was tossing out the garbage over the weekend (no pickup on weekends and he'd throw the garbage bags into the back of his truck to haul to a different property with a dumpster he owned) and he caught the odor and opened up a bag to find rabbit cage sawdust and droppings - and a receipt with the tenant's name on it.She chose to leave, and it took a while to get the smell out of there. 

Our house has better TV, faster internet, better/larger beds, more of our toys and requires less effort. 

Then, I got to explain that it wasn't me.He also hauled away the garbage on Saturdays when he came to the building to do weekly maintenance.  

As if tenants were dial up toys that crank out money for you.  

He charges $100 administrative fee for hiring maid or haul off services  and a $75 re-inspect fee.  

The gardener shows up, runs the mower, weed-eats the edges, uses the blower to blow debris onto a plastic sheet that they roll up and haul off, and they fix any sprinkler heads that aren't functioning correctly.  

Those in the real estate market in the long haul and not so obsessed with just cash flow (without much appreciation value in their properties) will probably make it out better in the end and even with some great opportunities in the years to come.