How much upfront costs are typically involved in a project before you know if it's a viable project to pursue? 

I intentionally keep mine in a different county than I live in too, just in case they do notorious serious or something.I don't own many rentals these days, but if I did, id have one of the online pay services or set up an ACH on their paydays.

Most of my tenants that use assistance are the ones who are always behind or in a struggle.

Kodak was a industry "beast", a definitive "safe" investment, until it wasn't, and it went to trash in a flash.   

Similarly, if you put several Class D tenants in a Class A 4-plex, what do you think will happen to the property?

Companies like State Farm, Allstate, or Chubb often come up in conversations, but comparing quotes with independent brokers might give you the best value.Since you're in a general partnership, it”s critical to clearly define liability exposure.

So is it equally illegal when the large landlords drop rental prices in a building as vacancy increases and the market softens?

So the major issues in a house are a foundation issue or a structural issue, the next tier down would be a mechanical issue like Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, then roof - which isn;t an issue a new roof is very common in a fix n flip, and then the outside facade: Brick repair, driveway repair, brick pointing. 

We've put in a tremendous amount of work to make the RTR Academy community and education as beneficial as possible for investors of all experience levels. 

It's in a rural town so I'm also worried that demand might not be as high as in more densely populated areas.I'm planning to call local banks this week to understand financing options and contact some contractors who might be interested in building additional units.