There is a $35.00 Non refundable background check that the applicant needs to pay to smartmove.Look at the ID of the person when they get to the property,.......and make sure it matches the person.....A quick tip on showing......and setting rental prices.......Do a "soft advertisement on Craigslist with all the info.....but without the actual address.....just the name of the street.....see if you get lots of responses quickly.......if you do......that means you need to take the ad down for a couple days and then re advertise it at a higher price..............I advertise on CL and when the phone rings.....Do NOT ANSWER.............let people leave voicemail .....you want to see if when they leave a message they sound like someone that you may feel comfortable talking with on a daily basis......And DO NOT DO OPEN HOUSES..............What you need to do is when the first person you talk to that you get a good vibe with expresses an interest in seeing the house......you tell them I'm showing it Saturday at 10am and Sunday at 3pm...........then be quiet.....they will pick a time.......and you repeat that process with everyone that calls and make sure it at or around the same time slot as everyone else.....Don't tell them other people will be there also......When they do show up and they see other people there also.....it creates more of a demand for the room :-)   Also...pick a time that is withinn 24 hours of talkin with the person....if you talk with them Monday afternoon....tell them you are showing it tonight at 7 and tommorow at 6.        

@Jonathan S. lots of people are making assumptions that he will be trouble down the road, which is possible but not guaranteed.

I will take the contrarian view here... this is an owner occupied purchase correct and your using one of your mortgage slots to buy a 3 unit..

I agree with Matt and Dana that playing the appreciation game is more like playing the slots, so I've decided to ignore this as a factor in my buy decision.

The almost year I spent learning and gathering information, "Gurus" and "Get rich now" systems were common and I always thought to myself "Why would someone throw away a winning powerball ticket to go play the slot machine?"

I viewed a flipped home the other day it had what appeared to be RTA cabinets with all the features, slow close under draw slides and hardwood draws with the slotted cuts.

Getting a deposit also stops a customer from backing out , once the contract is signed I schedule a slot , order materials , get permits .

Then I always have a 10-20% rate of people who don't show up to our scheduled time (which is just a time slot within an hour I create...open house style), and then from whatever is remaining, some people don't make the cut because of minimum requirements.I ran it like you with the paper app and the link and stuff, but there is an application already on Zillow they can fill-out and it does the work.

Basically you sign up for a time slot during an open house so you will have the home to yourself. 

. :)I'd add Anza to the list which is close to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and The Slot along with Julian and Borrego Springs which has a golf course and some really nice midcentury homes.I was just in Desert Hot Springs visiting the Desert X installations and have changed my mind about DHS.