Quote from @Arkadiy Iliyayev: Thanks for the reply Jake, I really appreciate itIf you cut Brownsville in four pieces using the interstate to divide east and west and Ruben Torres to divide north and south, you'd be safe buying basically anything north of Ruben Torres with the notable exception of Cameron Park.

We paid to have someone cut and paste our information into online credit card applications (they applied for 10 cards in total), and then to have instructions on how to liquidate our funds emailed to us.

We work hard cut costs as much as possible, everywhere that we can. 

The tenant asked if he could paint the backyard patio and driveway (we have a rear entrance for cars from the alley). I said yes, and he mentioned that he would deduct the cost from the rent. I replied, asking him to ...

I can say without a doubt that I would have totally taken the wrong deals if I hadn't physically visited the area to get a feel and built a team of professional boots on the ground who weren't afraid to be blunt with me. 

We will cut them loose if we have to, but I think the old landlord just made it too easy for them.  

I was considering going into real estate investing because I would like to cut out the middle man ( the broker that is) lol and have some diversity with my license, not just helping people buy and sell houses.

I don't self-manage this property which definitely cuts into my profits, but I'll still consider this a win for now because it's appreciating at an average rate of 9-10% a year.

If you go forward, make sure they handle all maintenance & repairs on the property too because these organizations typically have in-house staff..Snaking toilets, repairs, grass cut, snow removal, paint...Make sure you're covered with insurance as well. 

The Tree cutting issue was discussed in more detail on another post intitled "Unlicensed Property Management Company in Jackson Mississippi".