My expectation is that rents will be flat this year for the most part, and then pick up steam over the next 2-5 years once we get the apartment inventory cleared out. 

Recommend you pick a piece of land in your area and do a line item analysis and post on here. 

Most tenants did not receive certified letter, or pick it up at the PO. 

I'm gonna assume you do know & I'll pick your brain, gain your confidence, and you'll tell me what I want to know about the deal 8 out of 10 times. 

I think you need to pick a horse and reason from there.  

I have a 2 bed 1400 sqft rowhouse.  Applicants are in mid- to late 20s.  Background and credit checks are excellent.  Both have cat (which is fine since never had mice when cat was on-site)1.  Couple, he's a post-doc ...

I drive a 95 nissan pick-up, Paid for, good milege Why spend 50k on a fancy car that will go down in value ( not counting collector vehicles) I would rather spent 50k on a down payment on more real estate for more cash flow

My advice would be try to pick a marketing strategy that is unique if possible.

I've heard of mentees who started cleaning up construction areas on a flip at the end of each work day or picking up supplies at Home Depot and delivering them to the job site.

Pick your poison carefully though or it can cause a loss on both sides.