Liquidated damages clause.  

That means that I got back $3,000 the first year…a 100% ROI.The next year, I had a roof leak that damaged the ceiling in the dining room.

My first tenant is moving out and it is not going smoothly.There seems to be a lot of excessive damage to the house and I want to know what is normally considered excessive damage.Is there a standard listing of typical excessive damages in rental properties?

There were times the expenses like new roofs, furnaces, and damages, may have gone over the $100 a month for a property that I had budgeted, but I had enough money in Escrow to cover those properties, and so I never was left with a negative amount in my bank account.  

A guy would buy the worst of the worst properties for pennies on the dollar and fix the things that people generally avoid, like foundation, termite damage, etc, and get it primed to sell to a rehabber, still leaving room for the rehabber to make a profit. 

My comments for the 2-3 yr time frame boils down to securing a "long term" tenant for ease of the investor and less turn over with tenants, therefore lessened propensity for damages, re-marketing, listing, showing, screening, etc.

I put in the vent last summer and there were no signs of termite damage so I'm hoping these are just winged ants.  

@Chad Duval As Thomas S. said, your contracts are of limited term and therefore can be changed very easily (i.e. basically every month) as long as you notify the tenant of the change as per timeframe described in the lease (and/or local laws, whichever applies).As regards your statement of "making money" on those pets:  while I get the idea, you probably won't make any due to the additional wear and tear, if not even damages caused by the animals (as a broad and general statement; I personally know no cat that would ever pee on the carpet unless their owners are reckless idiots and don't properly provide for them).

Situations covered by our policy include, but are not limited to: Maintenance issues that affect your ability to hostDeath of a family memberSerious illnessProperty damageNatural disasterPolitical unrest"So with the property under construction, I will have pictures showing "property damage" and "maintenance issues that affect my ability to host".  

Is it possible to include a clause that makes explicit that the tenant  elects not to purchase insurance and waives their right to damages and loss?