A lot of people skimp on insurance but if you get a sue happy tenant with a good lawyer they can take it to you just simply defending yourself and if they are successful it can ruin your net worth.

You should use either LLC’s (the old and expensive way) or a Series LLC (the new and more cost/time effective way).

They are in rare form this year, really trying to screw residents out of every last penny they can.They are using comps from early 2018 even though their own rules say the effective date is Jan 1st 2019.I showed them comps from November through January of bigger houses (+400-600 sq. ft.) in my neighborhood selling for less ($20-$30K).

The building should be maintained well CAM needs to be done and it needs to look good and be desirable  but taking a C Class to B Class or A Class can be expensive and not worth the costGetting good rents by reasonable improvments that are cost effective in my experience leads to more flow than a total gut. 

For example, I spend considerable time contacting agents, property manager, lawyers, contractor, mortgage brokers, etc to building a team of ongoing contacts and selecting couple that best fit for my company and BRRRR strategy, I also read the book by David Greene title BRRRR.

Absentee Owners have been popular for a long time, and are apparently still somewhat effective (people are still mailing to them) but they are getting multiple offers to buy their home.

https://www.moco-inc.com/blog/wa-state-source-of-income-law-effective-sept-30/

NOBODY wins, except the lawyers.

The landlord has the right to change the terms of the NEW lease which will take effect after the current one has expired. 

Is there a cheap and effective way to accomplish getting my tenants to pay their own water?