We added $40K-$50K refinishing the hardwood floors, removing wallpaper, painting walls and updating the kitchen & bathroom with new cabinets, adding granite countertops and creating a BEAUTIFUL dining room off the kitchen that was wasted space as an enclosed porch, and also added french doors leading out to a newly-built pre-finished deck we added so the new owners could enjoy their gorgeous fenced in backyard.

On a forum such as this where hundreds (?)

Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.

I'd be able to make a couple of hundred a month that way, but I lose a lot of tax benefits.My preference is a lease option, but I'm struggling to price this out.

Transactional messaging, such as order confirmations or shipping updates, also requires a distinct opt-in.Businesses that violate the TCPA can be fined per violation, with penalties ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Given your situation, spending a few hundred on an attorney sounds like a solid investment.I have never lost an eviction case with Denise and her firm.

Of course you can be passive and buy performing stuff and get nice returns but when people are having courses that show you how to make a few hundred grand a year in notes people get all excited and rush to the well only to realize it’s dry and you need to work to fill it. 

While the usual saying "you get what you pay for" obviously applies, I'm flabbergasted that people are ready to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a foreign country but have an issue paying a likely small amount in relation to that to make sure they don't end up making a bad investment.Hope this helps!

This scenario applies to buildings with tens to hundreds of units within the city of Philadelphia. 

Companies managing hundreds & even thousands of doors use Buildium.Many of them though, use a CRM on top of it for even more features: Leadsimple, Monday, etc.Look into Appfolio, Propertyware and RentVine.