Granted I am a newbie at this and just starting all my research on the subject (so be gentle). 

Decorating is a skill, and takes time as well.Start with lower rents and gently increase over time to get renters early on when you have no reviews.

Buy a gently used car. 

Then and only then can we call the police (non-emergency line of course) and invite them over and then we have a reasonable discussion about it until we all come to a reasonable solution.If we are NOT home then we are supposed to knock on the door, gently of course and if the squatter does not let us into the property that we pay the mortgage on, then we are to calmly leave them alone, and continue paying the gas and electric and water bills and order food in to them three times a day either through Grubhub, Doordash or Postmates.

Grout a small area, wait 5-10 minutes, gently sponge off excess grout, rinse sponge, and repeat rinsing until all excess is gone.

As mentioned before, the risks of tenants moving their own appliances, causing damage, getting injured in the process, or improperly installing (think gas range leak) is another liability to worry about.You can easily buy low to mid end set of appliances gently used or new at a outlet type store for less than a months rent, which would have likely prevented or shortened your vacancy time in this case and thus payed for itself.

Here's a resource for buying previously owned/gently used guru stuff.https://www.ebay.com/sch/successguys/m.html?

We do annual, gentle increases on longterm tenants-because they expect it.

Speaking from experience here haha-Look for properties that are made with durable materials that can withstand wear and tear from guests who are likely not going to be as gentle as you would be yourself.

They want to be handled, they want to be spoken to gently, they want to be asked if anything's wrong when the rent is late, they want to believe that they have a personal relationship with the landlord.