I asked a co-habitant to vacate.  

I've been self-employed for several years, but I have an odd habit of moving to another state or country on a whim and taking 2-6 months of the year off of working to travel and focus on other things. 

Mindset and approach will play a vital role in seeing the process to the finish line.The application of language is key here inclusive or otherwise.This is a bump on the road and not a stop sign,you can do it and win your husband over if you really want to see it happen and create a legacy for your family.Good luck sista and have the mindset and attitude that says forward thinking and backward never.

If you continually request access when no repairs were requested and for minor things that the tenant can do like checking smoke alarms, Changing ac filters, the tenant can sue you for not having quit enjoyment, also landlords dont have the right to request entry to "inspect" anything, under california law your breaking the implied warranty of habitability.

(A) A landlord who is a party to a rental agreement shall do all of the following:(1) Comply with the requirements of all applicable building, housing, health, and safety codes that materially affect health and safety;(2) Make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition;(3) Keep all common areas of the premises in a safe and sanitary condition;(4) Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning fixtures and appliances, and elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord;(5) When the landlord is a party to any rental agreements that cover four or more dwelling units in the same structure, provide and maintain appropriate receptacles for the removal of ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste incidental to the occupancy of a dwelling unit, and arrange for their removal;(6) Supply running water, reasonable amounts of hot water, and reasonable heat at all times, except where the building that includes the dwelling unit is not required by law to be equipped for that purpose, or the dwelling unit is so constructed that heat or hot water is generated by an installation within the exclusive control of the tenant and supplied by a direct public utility connection;(7) Not abuse the right of access conferred by division (B) of section 5321.05 of the Revised Code;(8) Except in the case of emergency or if it is impracticable to do so, give the tenant reasonable notice of the landlord's intent to enter and enter only at reasonable times.

The timing of setting up this structure is also vital and even more conditions should be met when the lien is in place such as the payments made and other (but the good news is once it is set up, it costs very little to keep it up and it is very easy to modify or transact moving forward).It can also be set up with no tax impact (based on the state and the structure as there is a lot of flexibility with LLCs)Speaking of bankruptcy, there are several cases where after 2 years of setting this equity stripping strategy up, the BK courts upheld that creditors will not touch neither the LLC nor the liens.

A landlord can be required to fix damages so as not to violate code (habitability) but the tenant pays for all damages.

This is why establishing relationships with contractors is so vital for peeps who want to do this stuff continually.Good luck.

Landlords are responsible for providing a safe, habitable property, but they don't have to cater to all requests.

The Landlord shall, at the Landlord’s expense, maintain the Premises in a safe, habitable, and sanitary condition and comply with all laws, ordinances and regulations pertaining to the condition of Premises.