Long story short we do not have much protection in NJ, collecting full security deposit is a must. 

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with zero or negative relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560, little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

In my area, courts will not allow you to collect the lease balance if the tenant breaks the lease.

Are they collecting enough to cover expenses while also building up a reserve?

If he files a transfer deed to the Land Trust or if he "sells it" then property taxes increase, the change in hazard insurance becomes a tangle.I wouldn't give authority to a bank person to collect rents, file evictions, deal with repairs... there are set up costs and on-going management costs.

Just simple record of properties, manage tenants, collect applications, track payments and expenses, maintenance etc. 

Collection services usually want 50% of what they collect.

You can turn it over to collections and maybe get some of that money back.

Forced appreciation: New paint job for the exterior of both units performed in 2024, Rents raised to market rents in 2024Pain points: Collection of the tenant portion on time has been an issue.

You can hire an operator to manage the sampling, sludge collection, and forms to file quarterly, for around 4-600/mo (again depending on size).