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Thanks so much for all the info! All of your advice really helps.

Thanks everyone.

I thought you weren't allowed to have contact with the owner or anyone else who has interest in the property. Does this vary state to state?

Thanks for the welcome! I have posted a few things already and you're pretty much the only person to respond to any of them. Thanks for your help!

I understand that investing doesn't require a license, but I would like to sell, be a realtor. In FL they have lots of different course formats, but I would do the one week course and take my exam right after that.

I'm just looking for people's experiences with being an agent right now. I haven't made any hard and fast decisions yet.

You could take them to small claims court. In your lease, does it say that the tenant would be responsible for the remainder of the lease's rent if they left early? Just b/c they leave doesn't mean they get out of the lease. They are responsible for all of it, so it would probably be worth your while to take them to court. Although I do believe you have to make an effort to re-rent the property and if you do get it rented, subtract each month's rent from the amount the previous tenant owes you. Double check me on that.

As far as putting it on their credit report, as PPs have said, send it to a collection agency. Good luck.

edited to add that you don't have to give them any warning that you're coming after them, the lease is their warning and its legally binding!

My question:
What variables make the best rental?
*2 bedrooms vs. 3 bedrooms
*1 bathroom vs. 2 bathrooms
*yard size/porch area
*no garage vs. 1 car garage vs. 2 car garage

My demographics:
Ocala is full of older people, lots of people retire here. There are still plenty of families here, and lots of them have kids. My husband and I are trying to decide what is better to buy as a rental out of the above factors. I can see young families with no kids or 1 kid renting a 2/1, I can also see older couples renting these. But larger families would want 3 bedrooms and preferrably 2 bathrooms, and a yard or porch for family time and play time. We also have to keep in mind what ppl will want to buy when we're done renting and go to sell it.

What do you look for when choosing a rental?

If its just for a rental, I'd leave it. When I personally walk into a house, I don't notice that first off, and when I do, I think its ugly but I don't really care about it. If it was MY house (that I'm living in) I'd scrape it. Also, it holds dust and allergens, so that's kind of something to think about, but if its just for a rental, I wouldn't bother with it (I've heard it is a pain in the butt to scrape it).

I have read a little about tax liens but in layman's terms, what exactly are they? What are the pros and cons?

Hey everyone--

I am thinking of going to school to get my real estate license. Right now, I am going to school for Massage Therapy, but being as that is a very physical job, I would only work about 20 hours a week after I get my license, and I am wanting to do real estate sales on the side. I know the market is down right now, and I know that its not too easy to get your first sale. I love real estate tho, and I would like to do this. The problem is, I don't know much about the work life of an agent, so I would love it if everyone could tell me the pros and cons of being an agent. Also, what are some fees I can expect to incur (other than fees for the pre-licensing class, the exam, and the license and CEUs)?

TIA!