Tenant said the flapper valve on the toilet sometimes stuck-she paid the bill and arranged things with the water company...but in this day and age I'd like to think the water companies would alert users if there is a massive and continuous spike in water consumption.

But I believe this is an up and coming area - my home is one of the first tear-down-rebuilds in the area, with more remodels / tear-down-rebuilds in the works (there are a handful of remodels in the neighborhood).

But over a long enough investing period the numbers should more or less balance themselves out and become fairly reliable.As Bruce pointed out, the alternative is to buy and remodel a piece of crap house. 

*flushes toilet*....

I completely remodeled the inside and outside of the home.

It required a full gut remodel, layout changes, and probably a second story addition.

At this time remodels are not in the cards but i have looked at possibilities for the future.

Purchase price: $309,000 Cash invested: $30,000 Sale price: $454,000 Full live in remodel including out buildings and dock - Built a hobby farm/hosting business too.

What they mean by that is that they will  respond to a call about a leaky toilet, send the maintenance guy to confirm that its a leaky toilet and then hire a third party to come fix it.

Visible dirt/dust on almost every surface, trash (including Q-tips) left on bathroom floor, toilet not cleaned, food splatter around kitchen, smudges on walls, windows and mirrors, list goes on...