Feels like a black box that I have no control over. 

Animal Control wasnt much help beyond brokering the deal between us and the Human Society.

Thanks for the responses.I just wanted to make sure its not language/culture barrier that is causing me to dismiss some of these- that would not be cool for lots of reasons- but here in LA in the LA rent control/tenant friendly environment- MTR hosts are pretty paranoid (that is because as alot of you probably already know- 30 days creates a legal tenancy)Invariably though these people act weird, wont be vetted, never have reviews, etc., so I'm glad others feel as I do.

Also keep in mind some places are rent controlled.

If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing.

Factors that control this are the asset class, condition, neighborhood, etc.

You, the property owner have a choice of what type, deductible amounts, liability coverage amounts, and you even have some control over the value that the insurance company puts on for the property value.  

Actually, the property becomes part of the bankruptcy estate and the bankruptcy trustee controls the estate.

All of them offer check book control.  

While the neighborhoods and the buildings may be great to live in, the total lack of control does not fit me.