There are fewer properties available so many properties on the market are carrying higher risks for less reward.If you decide to invest out of state, make sure you spend a lot of time discussing renovations, management philosophy and housing location.  

For anyone with fewer than 15 - 20 units, I don't think paid software is even necessary.

It might be different in your market but in a lot of places there are just more people moving in the summer, so you would have a larger tenant pool to choose from, compared to the winter when fewer people are moving. 

That's a much more time-consuming process than a standard eviction action.

If you're in debt up to your eyeballs and you add to that debt each month you have fewer choices in life than someone who has money in the bank and is cash flow positive each month. 

I looked into it and it's definitely expensive and time consuming, which is fine.  

Read/consume, but eventually you have to make a decision and stick to it.

I get business cards rather than personal and all of my business cards do not report to consumer credit therefore won't impact your credit score except for the inquiry.  

The agent side and the consumer side.

Hiring a lawyer to sort it out will be more costly, and time consuming.