Quote from @Phillip Austin: There are two alternatives to a security deposit, which I speak about in my book.

After talking things through with the boss "wife" I finally received the okay to invest into real estate.

Also consider contacting houses that look vacant, simply door knocking in a neighborhood that you are interested in and talking to the homeowners in a genuine way, For Sale By Owners is another potential, using an App like Nextdoor or Facebook pages/groups related to local real estate and just telling the group what you are looking for, contractors also know about houses coming on the market soon and so do property management companies, and finally garage sales are a good way to find off-market properties as people prepare to sell.To Your Success!

Finally, of the extra $200k, how much are you putting into operating reserves? 

It can be finalized any time before your tax deadline in April 2025.

Plus if you have good systems in place, you should be spending much less time on each booking than what your cleaner spends cleaning it. 

So I started listening to the BP podcasts and buying books on the topic, and that’s where I am now.

Walkthroughs are never detailed enough to be final (ie often tenants have lower disconnected and discover broken appliances later.) 

Take a copy of the lease, payment history and if you have one your receipt book.

They don't write books, do seminars or post on social media.