It's a simple way to gauge the condition of the building's main sewer line.Unfortunately fraudulent rental applications are more common than one would think so good on you for catching that.

This sewer line runs under 2 of the other subdivided lots that were intended to have houses on them about 400' away and ties into a city main 1 block away from the houseOct 2008 - I purchase the home and everything is great, assuming all is per plan.2010 - Developer sells one of the lots that my sewer runs under to the water district for a future clean water well site. 

Another thing is, the sites that list the manufacture year showed that all the ones I was looking at were built in the 70s.

A simple example might be rehabbing a 100 year old home to be a rental.

When you ask a simple, direct, human questions of "hows it going", it's definatively disarming. 

@Robert Lum  you bet you can troll around a site like BP read their books listen to the pod cast of those that are successful and talk about their business's.. its inspiring and motivational.but if you really want to learn the nuts and bolts you need to get in the game.the best and least expensive way to do that is to simply take a pre license course in your state.. learn the laws ( the real laws not the BS that is talk about on line).. terminology etc. then go to work with a brokerage in the aspect of Real estate that interest  you.. there you will get REAL training by those that are successful you get on a team.. you get paid as you learn.

Is it just as simple as entering your account information in their mortgage payment portal and making sure the payment comes from your account?

Good examples to try to follow.From the above discussion, I now have some simple, beginner questions about taxes and bookkeeping.Example property:Rent: $2000PITI: $1200, CapEx: 5%, Maintenance 5%: Vacancy 8%: Prop Manag 8% ($520)Cash flow: $280In the bank, you keep the $280 along with the $360 from CapEx, Maint, Vacancy while the Prop Manag is paid to the PM.

A good way to find deals is by connecting with local real estate agents, wholesalers, or checking out sites like Facebook groups and Craigslist.

Aside from the risk of taking on the property with tenants, you may also have to purchase site unseen which makes it tough to calculate repair costs.