@Adrienne Green Pre-covid I swore I would never rent again in my life..but after looking to buy for over a year in the greater Portland (Maine) region, I'm about ready to throw in the towel.

There are hotels now that offer kitchens, clean towels, housekeeping, security, front desk, concierge services all much cheaper than a dingy ABB where the owner is cutting corners to keep up his rental payments and ABB fees.

(Condos & SFH etc)Then calculate your hard cost and soft costs and include your land cost.

How will you vet them because they don't just wear and tear on local services, they will tear the towel racks off the wall when they fall out of the shower... imagine.

My advice is soft walking, hard vetting.

If it's something like unpaid astronomical medical bills I would be more understanding VS it being something like an unpaid auto loan, unpaid credit cards, etc.If the rental market is soft in your area then sure - consider a strong co-signer - but if it's a more competitive market tenant-wise you should be receiving some better renters. 

Also the early retirement folks that need to survive sans retirement acct access pre-59.5Not sure if this is a soft sell for crummy yawner financial advisor advice from Kyle or not, but RE thankfully has inflation and  cost buffers built in if done right.  

The last thing I need is some Melvin knocking on my front door because he wants me to fix the towel bar he broke.

we have also found that people have removed or replaced old mechanical floor vents (18"x24"), which ends up with a soft spot because there are no floor joists there.  

Everyone else on your team will be transaction-based and not really involved after a purchase.We're in the Metro Detroit area, so you may want to follow our blog here on BP, but at least read the following posts:Follow our "Deep Dive" series we're doing about Metro Detroit cities and City of Detroit Neighborhoods: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...How to “Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”: https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesIn our experience you will need to:1) Learn to "Maintain to the Neighborhood", not your personal standards2) Tenant-Proof everything you can Hard surface flooring, not carpeting (too easy to trash) Same basic paint for everything No garbage disposals for them to break Only spring-type doorstops also with plate on the wall Glue rubber mats under sinks to prevent water damage Sheet aluminum on walls around stovetops, for easy grease removal Towel racks - screw 1x3 to wall studs, then screw rack to that Install low-profile downspout ext, not aluminum that always disappear Plan on cleaning gutters and leaves up in the fall as tenants won't Avoid garage door openers3) Have a great application screening process: Check credit for evictions & convictions, utility collections Focus on employment/income stability Require bank or debit card statement - you'll be surprised what they spend their money on!