New houses grow old with renters.. it will never look better to put on the market than now.The "wanting to get experience as a landlord for this type rental.. a SFH is marginal for just this one property" better to take a class at a landlord tenant association so your prepared more to do that in the future.Personally I'd sell if the tax guy thinks it's wise to do, otherwise the depreciation and losses you may have renting for the next few years might offset and keep it about a even trade off to sell later.

PITIA is short for Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance and Association fees.It's NOT the time to buy and hold right now as we are back to the peak home prices before the last bubble. 

After all, you are responsible for paying all costs associated with the rental.

The function of a good real estate agent is to ensure you get the best price for your property and to perform the associated paperwork.

I was a little taken back by his assessment of real estate investing and strategies associated with it and gave me the impression of not knowing what I am doing. 

Possibly using a professional third party vendor for the pre-inspection is a great idea, give a copy to the owner and tenant Excessive holes in walls Broken tiles or fixtures in the property Plumbing backups Repainting where a tenant has repainted from the original color Tears, holes, stains or burn marks in carpets Missing or damaged blinds Broken windows and window screens Broken doors and locks Broken or damaged appliances Excessively Dirty Pest control if you see Bugs and or fleasJunk or trash left behind Past Due rent Fees incurred from fines from the association due to the tenants conduct or lack thereof Water damage to hardwood floors Missing outlet covers Remotes for garage or gate if not returned Rekey of locks if tenants did not return the keys Unpaid utilities, as long as they were part of the lease agreement Undoing a tenant alteration This is a sample of things that are usually considered to be normal wear-and-tear and should not be deducted from a security deposit: Slab or plumbing leak Normal rug wear.

@Otto FreibergCheck out CCIA Chicago Creative Investors Association. 

Because this remedy involves legal technicalities, it’s a good idea for the tenant to talk to a lawyer, legal aid organization, or tenants’ association before proceeding.The basic requirements and steps for using the repair and deduct remedy are as follows: 1.

I think this is fair and helps cover some of the costs associated with the pets, while hopefully retaining tenants longer.

., we use John Budagher III with Budagher & Associates for all of our contracts.