It’s worth asking upfront about lease renewal fees, markups on maintenance, and early termination penalties.Finally, a quick personal anecdote: A few years ago, I had a client struggling with a nightmare tenant in Mission Viejo.

Although many dont I know many that only pay cash ( clients of mine) And for big ticket Items..

All my peers and clients who previously bought tax sale properties moved away from the strategy a number of years ago so I don't have any recent experiences to go off of,  but wouldn't be surprised if the lead time is longer this time of year due to the holidays. 

Also, I agree with organic growth, we get some inbound leads and referrals and have a high conversation rate closing them, and they've been great clients so far.

The successful brokers in this space often have analysists who are researching the market for listings, prospective clients etc.

I've taken on three clients with this issue this past year and all three tenants took the money and left within the month.

What I wrote above does not create an attorney/client relationship between us.

They already have my records from the previous year(s), I’ve been a client for 20+ years, and I provide pretty detailed reports per property.

What some of my clients have done in the past is look for more creative rental avenues to be able to charge a premium on rent such as the traveling nursing niche like furnished finder. 

And I can recall only once that a title company released earnest money to the Buyer without requiring the mutual release - worked out in my Buyer client's favor so I didn't complain.