Know Thy Neighbor(s)
I recently had a tenant who told the neighbors that I sold the house to him on contract, when in fact, it was only a 6 month lease. He also was not paying for specific items and the lawn was a bit too long for even Yogi the Bear!
I know we are in a "big brother" world, but knowing thy neighbors by providing them with your contact information may give you the upper hand into knowing when things start to go (or grow) wrong.
It may not always be the best of choices if your neighbors are constantly complaining, but it sure helped me jump on some issues with this tenant this time....which kept the city of my back when Yogi lost his pic-a-nic basket in the front yard!!