We live in a world where bad things happen to everyone at some point and if as a property owner you get into the habit of allowing tenants to dictate payment terms, and it isn't in your nature to reverse that habit, then you need to bite the bullet and hire a property manager.  1) Let's rewind all the way back to when/how this tenant was placed in your home.

If they have Bad Habits, it is likely the pet will too, AND the Owner may not give a rip about other people's property...including yours.Having said that, if you want to allow pets, check your local Humane Society "resources" page.

The search for the easy money, the habit of quitting too early because it got "difficult" or they got scared.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

Does anyone have any creative ideas of how a city and local investors can work together to ensure that all properties are safe, habitable and reasonably well-kept without instituting such a harsh, blanketed ordinance meant to keep some of the 'bad apples' in compliance?

TT does syndicate to sites that Zillow does not, so I see no harm in posting to both (my opinion only).It would be nice if there was a way to easily preview the application template.

Just as a smoker won't see questions about their smoking habits to be anything but a sign that smokers probably aren't allowed.

Helocs are generally on a 10 or 20 year amortization and if they are on an interest only it creates bad habits and keeps you comfortable paying the interest instead of the principal and interest for a quicker pay off/down.

Having a route planned before the open house will also give you the opportunity to plan out escape routes in case of an emergency.Keep Your Phone on you & ChargedIt’s a good habit for any real estate agent to keep their phone on their person and charged at all times.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.