This needs to be highlighted in the lease and acknowledged by them.Security Deposits: You can’t use their security deposit for routine cleaning, but if they leave things in bad shape beyond normal wear and tear, it’s fair game to deduct cleaning costs.I’d start by having a straightforward talk with them about the importance of keeping things clean for health reasons and property preservation.

As long as your out of pocket expense every month is equal to or less than what it would be if you rented somewhere else then you are still technically ahead of the game.

Research styles and come up with a game plan for paint, stain and furniture. 

Find out everyone's true feelings and where they might end up.

As you say, the concept is great and true, but the proper application in practice may not be as advertised.

This is all true except the no expenses or depreciation part, you actually can do that in an IRA (just doesn't help you personally today) on leveraged real estate because that portion of the income is subject to UDFI/UBIT tax which is calculated after deducting the first $1000 and accounting for depreciation and expenses as it relates to the % of the mortgage. 

this is old  tried and true method of simply having you pay them to get credit cards .. there is no need to pay for this service.. unless you want to of course.. there is no magic bullet ut there that is going to give you credit and financing unless you actually qualify for it.But zero interest credit cards are used by some to do rehab and then pay them off issue is though your fico score drops like a rock the second you take on all these CC.Also starting out there is zero chance of getting any kind of business line of Credit that is unsecured.

The only way to lose the game is to run out of cash.

It's all a numbers game and knowing if the numbers make sense with the turnover, rehab, and higher rents.

My biggest advice is to start investing where you have a good network of people you know like and trust...this especially holds true if you will be investing out of state.While it's not impossible to go straight to the commerical I personally found it easier to start in the residential world and then make my way over to commerical multi-family.