I've been patiently waiting, and sifting through direct mailers waiting for lenders to start offering to pay closing costs on a refinance with FHA loans.

. - people willing to accept a laughably low offer) because you'll have to sift through more of the "general population" of property owners to find the motivated ones, but they're definitely out there.

I will be sifting through it all and looking into all of your suggestions.

This is a numbers game in more ways that one, and one of those ways is that you have to sift through a bunch of bad deals to find one good one.

So first, I'm new; keep that in mind.Started direct mail marketing 2 months ago and have sifted out a couple leads and saw a couple houses.  

W2 people, it takes me a fraction of one business day to preapprove them.Self employed people, it often takes me a week or two because I have to sift through all their lies and misrepresentations to the IRS, and there are three or 4 phone calls and requests for additional documentation that I have to send and get back....HONEST self employed people, who are a very small minority, it takes a fraction of one business day, just like the W2 people.

The first is some tips to get you started on BP:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52761-the...the second deals with getting on the right path with investing:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52743-im-...The third is to help you sift through the haystack of agents in your area when you get to the point of needing one:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52724-im-...Happy Thanksgiving, and best of luck with your investing goals.

It's hard to sift through the "fake it till you make it" crowd.We noticed many experienced players moving to more institutional asset classes or diving into property development.We started developing in 2020.

Some lenders will sift through the returns and add stuff back to your income that’s clearly living expenses or what not.  

Also, note the "Related Discussions" at the bottom of the thread you started here.To answer your question... you need to define your market niche; establish your rental criteria; develop a good ad and info sheets; advertise on line and in other places that work for your area; be ready to field the calls/replies; tenant screen well with questions that will help you quickly sift out the rift-raft from the real contenders; be prepared to do full background checks... for rental history, income stability, credit history, and legal history.Also, if your properties have been sitting vacant for months, there is either a problem with the property or with the price.