She was my tenant for three years and was pretty negligent in the way she cared...or I should say didn't care...for the house. 

Even someone is coming from 500 miles away 1000 miles round trip in a car getting 25 mpg is only 40 gallons, so even $1 more per gallon is negligible. 

It currently says: "You promise to keep the premises in a neat and sanitary condition and to immediately reimburse the landlord for any sums necessary to repair any item, fixture, or appurtenance that needed service due to your, or your invitee, misuse or negligence. 

Checked with my attorney and he advises people suing small businesses usually sue the owner personally for gross negligence anyway.

(b) If after a casualty loss the rental premises are as a practical matter totally unusable for residential purposes and if the casualty loss is not caused by the negligence or fault of the tenant, a member of the tenant's family, or a guest or invitee of the tenant, either the landlord or the tenant may terminate the lease by giving written notice to the other any time before repairs are completed.

@Jerad GodefroidI understand your position and interest only will yield more cashflow but in the first few years of an amortizing loan; you pay really minimal principal which will make the difference between interest only and amortizing payments negligible in my opinion.

There's a difference between vandalism and negligence; the latter is not usually criminally actionable when it comes to non-animated property (i.e. a car or a house versus a little kid or a pet). 

If you could prove the tenant was at fault for the damage (ie, was negligent by not cleaning out the lint trap, etc) would you bill them for the repair/replacement cost in that case?   

We have a house that was damaged by a fire due to the neighbor's negligence.  

In this situation it was definitely not renting due to negligence and NOT price.