The mortgage on the rental including taxes/insurance is 2000 a month with approx. 6 years left on the loan(rent is 1400 a month and tenant takes care of all utilities including landscape-shoveling.)

The only other cost I can think of would be sewer, trash removal, water, gas and landscaping fees.

I don't know the statistics on success rates in this career field, but I plan on pursuing it to my best ability.

At this point, we were able to get some quick initial landscaping done to clean up the property and demo should finally be finished this week.

Houston's investment landscape is far more complicated then "katy is awesome and north houston is expensive" (katy is awesome and north houston is also awesome!)

Unfortunately, a lot of the larger landscaping companies may ask you to sign a contract, which I don't like to do.

Do any of you know any statistics about the damage that bad tenants cause landlords each year?

No structural damage to be found some landscaping paint and flooring mainly.

Plus numerous outdoor improvements to improve curb appeal and landscaping, add a dog run, and improve lighting/security. * Over time, we'd spend $7500/unit to upgrade interiors as units turned over.

I'm also constantly dealing with either ice and snow in the winter, or landscaping during the rest of the year.