In those instances, I will do two things:  1) I have the repair person call me after the repair is completed to confirm that it's been done, explain to me how it was done, and tell me how much I owe them (so I can mail them a check); and 2) I will contact the tenant as well to confirm that the repair was done and it's to their satisfaction.

Santa Ana, for instance, has a reputation for gangs and violent crime.

I even bid on several multi-family homes only to lose out to a lease by owner to the current tenant who I bid over, to disrespecting some homeowners by lowballing their asking price (hey, I did the math...extensively...and was only buying “deals that make sense”).

Like owners who've owned the property for 20 years or more, for instance.

I haven't done this for rentals, but I recently bought a dishwasher for home, and my credit card benefits include a two-year extension of whatever warranty comes with the appliance.

I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other, but rather implore you to arrive at your decision on your own, based on your extensive research and reflecting on your situation.

I have done extensive research, but research cannot top real world experience.

As a side note, my biz partner and I have extensively studied NLP and we have engineer asking questions in a very specific way to always get the answers.

They're requesting information from real estate investors on how this can be best accomplished with the following goals in mind: * reduce the REO portfolios of the Enterprises and FHA in a cost-effective manner; * reduce average loan loss severities to the Enterprises and FHA relative to individual distressed property sales; * address property repair and rehabilitation needs; * respond to economic and real estate conditions in specific geographies; * assist in neighborhood and home price stabilization efforts; and * suggest analytic approaches to determine the appropriate disposition strategy for individual properties, whether sale, rental, or, in certain instances, demolition.

Ask for an extension long before you think you'll need it.Good luck.