There is a fine line between protecting yourself and causing problems on the acquisition side.

The downspout diverts all that water away from the building so it doesn't cause foundation related issues.

A vacancy is better than a bad tenant" - Never forget this.Vacancies don't cause damage.  

To me what it comes down to here is trust and that is difficult to gain back after they break the agreement (not paying on time) no matter what caused it..

I was thankful to have another guy there with me, because once he came out of the kitchen and saw there were two of us it calmed him down a bit.He knew it was no longer his house because it wasn't too long that he then switched gears and began telling me how he got screwed on the house, first by the bank when he purchased, then the fire (which he started by having the grill to close to the house), which then caused him to get screwed by the insurance company, and finally got screwed by the contractor that did the work post fire which wrapped his "woe is me" story up nicely.  

For those of you who do not know, raccoon feces can carry some very nasty bacteria and parasites that are very toxic and may cause brain damage.

Because the just cause/eviction rules are in place, what just cause do you have to end the lease?

I'm asking cause I'm buying a house for cash but need to come up with some money for improvements.

You mentioned that your wife has become more financially conservative, causing you to sell your previous duplexes.

From a practical standpoint it appears a landlord should be prepared to wait 6 months to clear the existing tenant and/or come to some kind of agreement with tenant to move--I would not call it extortion, but with financial assistance apparently available for deposits, an existing tenant has a lot of leverage over a selling landlord.Are you thinking that DCHA makes the payment to a tenant to relocate them prior to the end of a lease rather than the landlord as well as that DCHA essentially has to sign off on any eviction/termination with cause that is prior to the end of a lease term (and it appears that can only be after the first 12 months?)?