This reminds me of that guy on Youtube who made a video about how if your property needed a new roof that was a great thing, because you could deduct all the money you were losing off of your taxes.The tax benefits of real estate are largely a myth that hasn't been true since the 80s.

Michael needs to update his video tutorials or write up a FAQ :) There are some features that are not as intuitive as I would think.

@Gil Happy  Take photos and do a video walk through with them, then have them sign with a non-refundable deposit. 

@Eric Li I can't speak for your area, but in Central Texas where I am I'm including a number of things in the listing that I haven't before like a floorplan (I used magicplan.app) and a video walkthrough.

Another option is to record short videos of yourself talking and post them as part of your newsletter.In addition to investment content, your newsletter should also include personal information and stories about yourself and what you have been doing.

All of this can be learned with a few google searches or Youtube videos.

If I have good videos and photos is that good enough?

You can search permits for things like roof, HVAC, electrical and plumbing in there so can get a general idea if anything has been updated recently.Also, instead of counting on your agent to get info from the sellers agent (they almost never reply to questions like this) why not just have your agent walk the property to take pics and videos and let him figure it out for you?

If I have a tenant that is good enough to stay / keep around for long enough for rents to go up, which happens frequently, then I don’t penalize them by asking for additional deposit.

I recommend changing the locks so the old tenant can't come back in.Document the condition as you found it, then document everything you remove from the home with pictures and/or video.