To have a “job” that you in effect pay to have will get old real quick

Does that mean I forfeit any right to make any deductions for damage and must return the whole deposit?

As a Property Manager in a market where many owners choose to manage on their own, I've seen several examples of owners losing their homes or properties because their tenants did not pay or caused excess damage.

Partner effectively, focus on securing your first deal, and build savings and credit.

Nobody really knows how low they'll go but I agree with predictions of 20-25%...and I wonder what Agents are doing to make up that delta in their revenue.We diversified well in advance knowing we needed to create additional streams of income, ideally by simply focusing on what we control, the size of our roster, and more effectively monetizing all of our current transactions. 

More specifically post cards because they are less costly and still effective if sent out to a good list and number of people. 

We would like to start creeping towards Madison with the spreadout of our rental locations, especially getting into Stoughton and McFarland since the properties are just a bit cheaper than Madison, but rental rates are getting higher and higher from the "Madison effect".

If you do find a deal and maybe it doesn’t cash flow for the first year or 2 but you can make improvements, raise rents on under market leases, manage property effectively and cover your expenses at least you will have started and can look for better cashflow over time.

What strategies did you find most effective?

My father is in the home improvement bussiness, we just had a hail storm pass through that damaged peoples roofs.