Blinds don't work, horizontal or vertical.Draps get wet.Putting a layer of tint or reflective materials on the glass help some...as long as you don't turn the lights on.Is there any sort of high tech materials you can put on that are like the one way mirror in the police interrogation room? 

He was lying to us about how the contact was started and even went so far as to say that these potential renters were accusing him of illegal dumping of hazardous material into our pond that is on the property (among other things).

Now what would cause a mass supply of houses & land-- cheap materials AND lots of sellers.

The strange thing is, I have requested any docs he has regarding this (marketing materials, FAQs, agreement template) and was told those don't exist.

If you can squeeze even $500 out of them, you've probably covered more than half the cost of materials and installation for the doors.

As a general rule of thumb, as soon as a tenant gives notice (or I give notice) I try to plan their preliminary walkthrough well in advance so I can also use it as an opportunity to walk through the unit and make my own checklist for repairs as well as take any measurements so I have all parts/materials ready to go as soon as its vacant!

Taking longer holding costs out of it, I’d wager I’d still be paying a good chunk more for materials.

But the family has been there for over 10 years and basically he does labor upgrades if we buy materials, and they are very clean.

@Jon Gorham Student housing can be a great investment just make sure that you use really durable materials (high traffic carpets, stain resistant paint etc) to help the house stand up to the potential beating it will take from the tenants and remove things that break easily or increase your liability (IE ceiling fans).

Due to the way materials transfer heat, the furring strips show up plain as day, and we even found a section where the original builders failed to apply ant insulation at all.Another cool thing is that you can look at the ceiling and quick find places that lack adequate insulation without having to fumble around the attic.You can even pour hot water down the sink and "see" the hot water flowing through the pipes.Of course if you had a recent water leak the water is absorbing heat in order to evaporate and this process is also visible.It's such a cool tool!