What do you propose is a better solution for motivated sellers who have no equity?

No one wants to open a business in places that customers go out of their way to avoid.

I'm not a big client, but he fits me in when I need the work done.As a small-scale landlord, I don't have full-time staff, but count on these people to keep 20 units running smoothly, and consider $50 reasonable to help keep me on their list of customers to prioritize.  

Instead, the solution should be to teach them what those costs are so that they can make informed decisions.

This is a customer service business.  

What Is The Issue That Your Product / Solution Will Address?

or is the only solution to make more money?

Come up with something custom tailored to their situation and ask if they aren't planning on rebuilding, if they'd be interested in you taking the lot of their hands and could they use some extra money in their present situation?

Dell's other problem is that their customer service and quality deteriorated simultaneously.

First off, most likely, you'll want to add your website on all materials if the goal is to get the customer to your website.However, more importantly, I'd think though what is the ideal outcome you want to have with the customer and, what's the quickest path to get that outcome.