There are different colors on the map, but no legend.

No miscommunication and potential legal issues with the new residents telling you that was broke before and you said you would paint this a certain color or you said you would fix this or that.

I don't put my rose-colored goggles on when doing projections.

Over the course of a week or so we worked with the contractor to choose the floor layout for the basement, choose finishes and colors, and order all materials. 

You can try Roofing.QualitySmith.com i found this with a quick search they offer an on line bidding system. you should ask the roofers if there insured, there experience in roofing, for some referrals also make sure to get several bids. a job like a roof has a lot of labor cost in it so bids will vary. id also get bids on the job with a tear off and an overlay. if your replacing the air cooler then the installer of the new unit should disconnect and remove it properly. roofers might brutally remove it and destroy mounts,connections or duct work and make more repairs for you. plus they may throw it off the roof Ive seen it done.

I pick a bold color to help make the house stand out.

Also, many borrowers have indirect experience like JV'ing a friends deal, being a real estate agent, or having a construction background — all of these help add color to the borrowers profile.

The worst was finding wires spliced together with duct tape inside the wall, no box, no access, no electrical tape.

I spend a lot of time cleaning up their messes and regretting investing with them. do you have any further color on this? 

Wow after reading the blog (after giving my first reaction  with out reading the blog I don't like to color my thoughts by what others blog on a subject)) I'm somewhat shocked that some people didn't "see" their tenants as people?!?!