I may try and rely on that  and keep up some on going communication with him.

Of course, successful companies can't typically accommodate a random drop-by, but communication should be positive, clear, and prompt.

I communicated with the tenant and he said that he is having a "tough month..."

I would note that to many lenders having PR or not may be less of an issue than an ability to communicate in and read Japanese. 

They obviously had some communication, since she knew about this before she came back.

I do have a virtual tour in the ad but at 625 sq-ft I have to have the tenants feel it out to make sure it will work.  

My plan includes: Professional Sign in front yard and at cross street (if allowed), Multiple Pictures / Virtual Tour, Color Flyers, Property specific website, Open Houses, Broker tour, reverse prospecting to local agents, buyer and investor list, Postlets, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc.Get the idea?

The tenant absolutely refuses to pay, claiming that the pipe broke on its own, or some nonsense like that (although the tenant did admit to causing the pipe to break in other communications). 

She is indeed very trustworthy and the communication is timely.  

The details on the particulars of that process are something I need to look into further, but I believe that there are many custodians and administrators that can make this happen for an insignificant cost, compared to the upside down the line.With one of those accounts, you can then invest in real estate (or virtually any other type of investment) just as you would with your after-tax non-retirement dollars, but with deferred gains as in the 401(k).This leads me to this conclusion:Given the before mentioned benefits of self-directed retirement investment accounts, it seems like a savvy investor could have his cake and eat it too - he might be able to take a great employer match in the early working years, hustle to build a real estate portfolio outside of the 401(k) on the side, and when he makes the transition out of his job, switch the funds over to a self-directed fund and begin investing in real estate through that.For the past year, I've become extremely interested in these self-directed accounts.