There will be some commodity inflation due to increased demand from emerging market countries and things like crop shortages.

They work on slimmer margins, take care of service requests on rentals, handle emergencies, etc. on long-term holds.

If for some reason you suddenly had to spend four, five or ten thousand dollars unless you have access to other funds, then you will have to spend at least a good portion of one month's living expenses to take care of the emergency. 

I created a "maintenance 101" video for our tenants, it shows how to reset your GFI, look to see if anything is in front of the garage "eye" before calling in, how to pull the emergency cord on the garage door if it isn't working etc... 

We are making ends meet and have emergency funds.

No one else available, on the spot emergency but during daytime hours, paid $700 for 100 feet of snaking & video and resetting the toilet (they snaked & videod through the toilet flange connection).

It would be advisable for the landlord to provide a copy of the rental agreement to to ensure compliance with the HOA's standards and for the purpose of emergency contact.

There are some turnkey real estate investment firms out there that offer a 100% passive solution for real estate investors.The benefits of turnkey properties are numerous, especially when you invest within emerging markets.

Also, depending on your strategy, you really can't lose money,  we buy at rock bottom prices, fix them up and rent them out--- the housing market can crash and our worst case scenario is a breaking even/small loss-- try comparing that to a small cap emerging market!   

Boiler replacement is better done when it's planned than EMERGENCY..