I know that by law (regardless of what a lease may say) landlords are supposed to provide basic amenities (hot water, electricity) to renters, but what are the timelines that such services need to be made available to the renter when there is a plumbing or electrical failure? 

Don't think that one particular out of state market will shoot you to success or abject failure. the things I posted above happen here in Cleveland but they also happen in just about every other major metropolitan area in the Midwest and across the USA. 

If you buy in the wrong area of any city you have already set your property manager up for failure.

I've had flight cancel due to weather,  on my last closing my flight from LGA was cancelled due to mechanical failure I was able to rebook on a diff flight 3 hours later from JFK and had no issues getting to my closing..

These were catastrophic failures where the cost to fix it was worth more than the house.

Don't think that one particular out of state market will shoot you to success or abject failure. 

Failure to follow that part of the lease is ground for immediate eviction.

If you have electric failures, it will not provide heat. 

The penalties associated even with non-willful failure to file some of these forms is steep. 

It's my understanding that an attorney or decent PM can have the tenant physically removed within 30 - 45 days in Texas.There are multiple points of failure:1.