What if I didnt want tenants to have pets -- how would I ever really know if they were following my guidelines until its to late and the baseboards are chewed up and the carpents are urinated on?

most likely as stated a bit of biting off a little more than you can chew for a first project..for me... if its a totally heaving gut job and such I would rather find a lot a build a new home.. at least I can control my cost somewhat  :)

To address Chris's question, I've been involved with many different type of construction so I'd be confident in my ability to build a house by myself, so biting off more than I can chew is really a non issue.

I didn't even consider that rodents might chew it.   

With everything he says I chew the meat and spit the bone.

I think many brand new BRRRR investors try to bite off more than they can chew.

They smell like diesel fuel and chew tobacco in their sleep. 

Property Damage and Maintenance Issues:Pets can cause significant property damage, including chewing, scratching, and soiling carpets and floors.

But the thing that is really galling me right now to where I'm about ready to really chew someone out is that the firstkey legal people simply refuse to discuss anything with me and aren't even telling me or the other contacts I have what is actually going on and why they can't figure out a way to resolve this issue.

This appears to he more of a bite than you can chew.