There's a lot of "which comes first the chicken or the egg" in getting deals. 

I've run 22 full marathons, I have a day job, a family, I eat lightning and crap thunder. 

It doesn't take much in unexpected renovation costs or high days on market to eat through $10K in profit.

One bad tenant can eat up years of profit.

My question has been eating at me for a couple of months now.

, new drywall on ceiling in about 50% of home, paint,........) then market it and hope it sells before rent (500/mo.) eats up all the profits.

The last owner decided to eat the cost.

I have a good friend who manages properties near there, so he had said he could recommend some people to me if I wanted to go the self managing route, however I think I'm pretty settled on just eating the $140 or so a month cost.

Place the burden of proof on the "good" tenant to get the bad egg out and find someone who can and will perform.

If not, be very cautious: 16%+ cash advance rates are common, and that much interest eats up profits quickly..I'm not a fan of borrowing, much less borrowing on credit cards.... if you're going to do it though,consider a less expensive, less risky strategy like asking the Seller to carry a second @7-8% or find a money partner to fund your down payment.