Some of the prices seem ridiculous (e.g. $100 to program two garage doors?

Because taxes are ridiculously complicated.

They’ll demand answers to ridiculous irrelevant questions like what’s the viscosity of the heating oil in the tank.

Some are ridiculously priced, some outdated, some with year contracts, and some are useless.

Those that respond “$0” or something ridiculous, you can request income documentation from them to justify.Don’t be afraid to share with them how much your property taxes & Insurance increased and that YOU cannot afford to absorb them.ALWAYS get an increase or something of value annually when rents are increasing or tenants will start thinking they should never have an increase, making future increases that much more difficult to negotiate.

I used to be a part of that crowd of people who would self advertise a TON, but some people are absolutely ridiculous with how much they post and I think it's up to others to give them "criticism" so that way they aren't polluting the forums

Nevertheless, they engaged an attorney that came up with all kind of ridiculous arguments as to the tenants ownership - including receipts for improvements, maintenance, and the fact that the tenant had deducted his rent payments as interest on his personal tax return.  

I think the cancellation windows that Airbnb (and VRBO to a lesser extent) offer are ridiculous to begin with and I have no interest in making it easier for people to cancel. 

Some of the "rule of thumb"  that we've seen include: #1: $1.25-$1.30 per sqft for older homes annually #2: $1,000-$3,000 per door annually#3: 5-10% of rental income, which I know can be inflated in SF since the land value is so highOur landlord friend quoted $500-$1,000 per month PER UNIT but that seems ridiculously high.

The others are just older generation owners that bought when things were ridiculously cheap and are holding on to their mental sale price with a death grip.The only entry level investment game in the Bay Area is bootstrapping your own startup haha.I'm in the Bay Area and moving to Pittsburgh soon.