Quote from @Jon Martin: Quote from @JD Martin:  I've got a long enough history with LTRs to know that generally you don't want tenants doing more or less anything because it's amazing how little common sense a lot of people have, and this translates into not asking guests to do chores because 1) they've paid a cleaning fee, 2) it's a vacation even if it's a home, and 3) guests that do chores might just put dirty towels back on shelves and dirty dishes back in cabinets. 

Personally, I have found occasional private lending to be a good networking tool and lead generator for what I'm really looking for - properties I can develop. 

Quote from @Jason Bohling: @Saad D. never paid attention to the 1% Rule, and while some people in some markets can occasionally find a deal that it will apply to, it isn’t feasible in most situations.

Maybe you can help the investors you meet with all the miscellaneous tasks involved with investing like picking up rent checks, turning over properties for new tenants, or even just driving by occasionally to make sure their properties are in good condition.I'd also recommend spending a lot of time looking at all the homes you're targeting in your area, both online and in person.

Once you have experience and learn to budget for occasional big ticket cap ex items that every house has whether it’s 100k or 1M, it becomes really hard to make any profit.

He built a solid local team... reliable contractors, a sharp property manager, even a neighbor who'd send occasional photo updates.

Bringing strangers into homes and paying them to work with occasional argument about finishing work.

They do 2 jobs...e.g one job and then Uber or Skip the dishes so they are never really at home but about 10 students living there so 2 per room.

I always charge fees for animals so it's money in my pocket.I occasionally waive the fee for a fish tank, depending on the quality of renter.

Not to mention, you've now become reliant on a 3rd party for income streams, and yes, they do occasionally run short of funding and, yes, they have no compunction with telling you to pound sand until they get new funding.