The housing stock here is typically about 100 years old and many of the properties need lots of updates, windows, siding, kitchens, baths, HVAC, new plumbing, new electrical, sometimes no garage etc..For a house hack it's often better to buy a more expensive place, that has many upgrades already done, as you are likley buying with a low down payment and can amortize the higher cost over 30 years.

Definitely do not make your listing live with cell phone photos or photos from the listing when you bought it. 

Minimum Qualification StandardsApplicants who do not meet minimum screening standards will not be approved.Applicant must have current photo identification and a valid social security number.Applicant's monthly household income must exceed three times the rent.

When that happened (I sent him a photo of the zombie dog, alive and well) the prosecutor was so enraged he went after the owner, who kicked the losers out of the property and there was no more barking. 

Are their listings detailed with good quality photos?

Simple things like verifying license numbers, hoping on Skype or verifying a persons photo ID are a good first steps in vetting a person.

We have photos and we have identified the address where the tree fell from, but so far the efforts made (i.e. knocking on the door, leaving a note, etc) to contact the owner have not been successful.  

I’ve read many replies about not using lock boxes because of the risk someone trashing the property, stealing items, putting the home up for rent after knowing the code, losing the keys, not putting keys back in the box, you want to see/get a “feel” for the type of person they are, etc.People also recommended ways to prevent this by requiring photo identification of anyone viewing the property and only giving them the code once they have arrived at the property.It seems that if you had more than 3-5 properties that you are managing or listing it would be an enormous waste of time and maybe impossible depending on the location of the properties to meet every screened/prospective tenant at each house.

I find the best deals at Lowes and they always have them in stock.

You said "The plumber believes"  The plumber always pulls things back and can have photo proof of what is causing the backup's.