I am all ears if there is something I am missing.Exactly right.My first non-paying renter lost her job as a waitress where she earned about $1800 a month.

We have very modest jobs, a Truck driver and a Waitress but we have been very motivated.

Bandit signs (your city may be strict and take them down, put them up when city workers are not working and put them in front of a Church,Walmart or any other high traffic area because you will want full exposure) Craigslist ads (Be very consistent with these, 1-2 a week) Business cards (Very very beneficial if you give these to waiters or waitresses or people you know and give them a nice referral fee.

I'd NEVER do shared electric.I remember reading a post, or was it a podcast, where one of the guys talks about services that will do meters for water usage in multi units, and they do the billing.Just like I never worked where I had to split tips when I waitressed, I'd never split an electric bill with my neighbors.

College student, job as a waitress W2 probably shows 5k or less made, high 700s credit score, No Debt at all, 25k in savings account

It might seem like a hard job, but waitressing at a high end expensive restaurant for dinner and cocktails in LA, or at the beach, will probably bring good money (and new friends) and might be an easy quick source of steady income for you, and you could still do mom things during the day, but that depends on your desires.You need to learn more before you invest dollar one, and get some W2 income so your not tapping into the savings, and make sure your credit is good, and make sure your debt to income ratio is satisfactory to qualify for loans.Just my thoughts on this.Good Luck!

Imagine going into a restaurant and the waitress demanding you pay her in nickels every 5 minutes.

And the unwavering anti-sex offender protesters (while rightfully so in MANY cases) make no distinction between a pedophile, and an old man that slapped a waitress' rear once in a diner 20 years ago (not condoning, but just pointing out it's a WIDE swath). 

Leave no stone untouched, you never know who in your network might be interested in investing in real estate. 3 flips of mine came from a waitress who overheard me discussing house flipping with my aunt who I was having lunch with.There are institutionalized ways of getting unsecured funds to use for investment purposes.

She is a waitress so income can vary.