By not serving them 3day notice rigth away you are teaching them that following their contract is FLEXible(all puns intended). 

I also understand limited liability has it's liabilities...or limits... pardon the puns.

Yeah I'm burning the entire damage deposit on replacement, pun intended.

I personally wouldn't switch it, I doubt the return on the added cost and expense would be worth it.Your more likely to get adults, roommates, no kids, which in my opinion is a preferred renter pool.. no pun intended. 

Is there a cost effective way to deal with the root (pun intended) of this issue? 

Pun intended.

(PUN) I had to become the in-house software engineer. 

Both units stanch of burned insulation.I really was hoping for a snappy 1 liner from you, or at least a pun =)

Explain to them that you are a small time landlord not some corporation with big pockets, no pun intended!

You need more meat on the bone when dealing with older assets and it can be tough to find it and substantiate the work-to-profit ratio.Flip the conversation (pun intended) and if you find that ranch style product in the Durham "burbs" like around South Point, then its a no-brainer.