They pay a lot of money for the houses they purchase and therefore they say they are broke and so they pinch pennies. 

What I’ve found is if my agents own a few investment properties before jumping in feet first they’ll not only be financially stable and make good decisions when I’m a pinch but since they also own investment properties they’re able help advise investors in ways that 99% of the agents out there cannot begin to understand.I can talk about this all day but basically if becoming an agent interests you, then I advise you should try it for at least 6 months before giving up your additional source of income for many reasons.Best of luck,Jon

They can be useful in a pinch, but I always feel more confident after I've looked into the comps myself.

Whenever we've done welcome packages in the past, we've done candles, chocolate, cleaning supplies and a gift card to local store or restaurant. 

And maybe someone is a solid "ok", not ideal for anything but in a pinch, better then nothing, that's a "C". 

In a pinch, are you allowed to use 0% credit cards (that don't charge interest for a year or so)? 

.- if we needed cash in a pinch, we can take out a $20k+ loan from our retirement accounts without tax penalties at a 4.25% interest rate.- we make good money at our W2s, so low reserves would only last a few months. 

You are really unlucky.If you've been pinching pennies and only doing the minimal repairs, then it's natural for things to break.

You also don't have to be one to feel the pinch, but they are the largest and the ones always talked about so there's that. 

What other investment is 1) massively tax advantaged on both holding and exiting--you will never find a tax break on your rentals like the capital gain exclusion on your primary home 2) offers leverage to people at an income level where its hard to otherwise access its power 3) offers flexibility within the holding period--you can rent out a floor or a room in a pinch even if you stay there 4) ability to borrow against (perceived) equity which can be used for other investments.