Knowing that someone died in the house would cause me a lot of distress,sleepless nights and anxiety.

Hello Nick,Another newcomer to the game with no formal educational experience in the field, small job history, and the similar anxieties you've expressed yourself.

Dog owners often don't know their dog has separation anxiety and barks continuously while the owner is gone. 

It's the anxiety setting in for your seller and they move from a rational state, she has likely given up and wants to get away at any cost.

But I am sure if I did I would feel extreme anxiety right now.

The anxiety is palpable. 

If this shakes you up you need to know that things a thousand times worst will most likely occur eventually and seriously send your anxiety through the roof..  

If you think I need to suffer financial ruin to really make sure I’ve learned my lesson, I assure you the stress, anxiety, additional costs of rework, and realization that some people (if you can call these “handymen” people) truly have no regard for their fellow human (or even the reputation attached to their own name) has seared this lesson into my mind already.

I have never had as many vacancies as I have right now, so I get it.So true...in all the years of renting to tenants, it's still a time of anxiety when a vacancy goes longer than a month.

We have a very long term tenant (26yrs) who occasionally does similar things... a result of a anxiety disorder (which is a qualified disability.)