Wherever there is shared space, I feel its the landlord's duty to maintain.

Maintenance and RepairThe management company shall maintain the buildings, appurtenances and grounds of the Development in accordance with standards acceptable to you the owner, including within such maintenance, without limitation thereof, interior and exterior cleaning, painting and decorating, plumbing, carpentry, and such other normal maintenance and repair work as may be desirable.For any one item of repair or replacement, in excess of $1,000 you can include a provision to have the management company bid out the work, or the parts.

Working smarter, making great connections and maintaining those relationships is what the long term winners do.  

Try to be kind and encouraging, but at the same time, maintain your expectations.  

Also the cost of setting up and maintaining usually cost more than any tax savings.  

How much additional training is required to maintain licence annually?

What are some things I need to do to protect myself in regards to maintaining/ and fixing problems as they arise in multifamily units? 

Plus your rentals should cash flow enough to maintain cash if rents should lower due to the economy.

(sorry about the bold I can't turn it off) Classes last anywhere from 6 - 12 weeks and the AKC maintains a list of classes and certified trainers on their website.

I spend my weekends maintaining their rental.