The other things I invite you to do is, before you take advice on this or any forum...or from a guru...is to look up their background and see if they really know their stuff or if they simply want to sell snake oil.

@Neil SmithPull a list from the auditor of what you're looking to call, load it into a dialer, call the numbers and ask to speak with the owner (their first name) - Introduce yourself by being personable (Who you are(first and last name - age/background), where you're from(local guy), and get straight to the point - why you want to buy and if they're interested in hearing an offer on their property - it's like a quick handshake over the phone. 

But, personally I wouldn't start the renovation until I'd had done a background check on the person who lost the property, to see if they have other assets they could sell to redeem the property or relatives who might help them out. 

Make sure that you posted the property onto a digital website like Zillow, and always ensure that the tenant fills out the proper paperwork, so that you can review their background.  

I'm located in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area and am open to properties basically anywhere in southern Michigan (anything south of Muskegon from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron is fair game imo.)I now have a fairly large nest egg of cash beyond all of my other investments (stocks, bonds, treasuries, crypto) and I want to turn that cash into a real estate investment or investments and I think my deep background in tech, systems, and marketing should be able to help me substantially.It seems to me like BRRRR on multifamily units makes the most sense, but I'm open to suggestions.I'm basically retired at this point as the only work I do each week is 3-4 hours of consulting for larger tech companies and I'm on a couple advisory boards.What are the best first steps in building a team and creating the systems necessary to start making deals?

For background, I was thinking of using it for half of an investment in a shorter term syndication that I would aim to pay back before the 0% interest promo expires. 

@Michael MaloneyYou could explain that moving into a different unit would not only require first last and security but also a credit and background check.

Taking your screening method above- as an investor, it would make sense that you are choosing the applicant with the best balance of income, credit, references and a clean background. 

Would love to learn about pain points from other property managers.So I have a career background working in software and am currently applying simply builds to common monthly tasks such as sending, receiving, and logging payments for rents.

If what they put down meets your qualifications, send them a link to run credit and/or background check at their cost.