Am I being foolish to try and protect the equity (from appreciation) and should I instead focus on protecting the $160K in hard dollars I've invested in the property to date ($60K down payment, $70K in rehab, $30K mortgage principle)?

Drew,I actually live in Kansas City and work as a property manager as well as an active investor.

My actual lease is not maintained on the site, I just save that document elsewhere.

You'll get more by actually going on the market.

I would never run an application without actually seeing the person, and their ID.. and letting them see the apartment first. 

The process starts when they are 2 years delinquent, but it usually 3-4 years before the auction actually happen.  

There is an incredible rise in interest in MF properties (probably from people actually seeing the potential with house hacking, investing, etc.) and they seem to be a good investment.I hope that helps a little bit!

After I sent the accounting to the tenant, the actual invoice came in and it's almost $400 higher than what I thought it would be.

I calculate 15% average waste on budgeting and am glad when actuals come in lower.PRICING FOR FLOOR COVERINGSCARPET: $1.60/Sq ft for a builder grade carpet plus 8# premium pad installed.

You don't have to "work for a broker" but you do need a broker to hang your license with, train you (taking and passing the test does little to train you in the actual application of being a successful agent), and provide errors and omissions insurance.