Keep enough equity in your home that you don't endanger your primary residence if things go south.

In most markets, the days of finding deals on the MLS are over or at least on the extremely endangered list!

Is there leftover items fromthe previous owner, Is there anything that could endanger the occupants especially children (lead paint on older buildings).I inspected a house yesterday that the new owner thought could make hime 80K but when I went through for the FHA buyer, it won't work, illegal additions without permits, drain problems in kitchen sink, faucet problems in bath (not turn off properly), stove not working, heating system not functioning.Guess what, this is not going to pass.

In addition to heartily second Nathan's assessment of your PM, I'll also throw out this:If there's reason to believe that the tenant has abandoned the property then there is a legal protocol for that.If there is reason to believe that someone is in the home who is not permitted to be there then there is a legal protocol for that.If there is a Bald Eagle identifying as a blue alien living there and they are both a protected class and endangered species at the same time, welp there's probably a protocol for that, too.While it would be prudent for you to understand the basics of Tenant Landlord Law implications, you darn sure shouldn't pay someone to manage your assets if they don't know how to handle this and take this off your plate.

This is not to say they'll do the job well, only that screwing the job up won't endanger anyone or the house; the worst that happens is the job looks like crap. 

In fact, they said they're scrutinized by their clients (banks) and won't take the risk of endangering a big segment of their business with one of the banks by favoring an in-house offer.Now, the story is quite different in the smaller, mom-n-pop type real estate office.

Anything that could potentially, at any level, endanger my primary I am against 100% and wont consider.

You have specific timelines that you have to meet for getting the property off the endangered list, and for getting it livable.  

Two hours later, at a Steven David CE class we were attending, he stated you should never use your house as an ATM:) I believe the correct answer is what fits your needs with the caveat that you should never endanger your personal residence.

Look up “Los osos snail endangered” and you’ll see just one of the MANY BS reasons why you can never build here.