However, this surprise can be mitigated if you are up front with letting them know that you will be working with an investor partner and be paid a fee for bringing them the property.

Convenience was definitely a factor.

I'm really surprised they don't require hard-wired to AC with battery backup.Why do a ten-year battery when by code you need to inspect anyways every year or when a tenant turns over? 

You might be surprised by the answers...I think it's really location and person dependent. 

(I'd be surprised if you could do this in CA)My vote is that you take the conservative approach, cut what expenses you can in order to save as much as possible for future investments and use the snowball strategy.Full disclosure: I did the opposite.

What I was pleasantly surprised about was that there was a nice amount of logic built in for "if-then" automation that can increase listing revenue if enabled. 

I was very surprised by this statement but maybe I should not have been because James and Erin did mention this possibility in the video so that's why I'm asking you experts for advice on what I can do next.  

The tenant has expressed interest in staying in the unit, but for convenience, I would like to keep them on M2M terms but under my lease standards, not the existing landlord's. 

You'll be surprised to see how many are willing to have a conversation with you and teach you a thing or two. 

I am not optimistic about such a play but noticed a few in surprising places.