Very exciting you are looking to get into the RE investing world.Thanks for the interest in Rent To Retirement.

I position my inspections as 'planning for future repairs/improvements' which mitigates that whole 'he's here to get my security deposit' mindset.And, I would rather have the tenant with me than to have him later claim that something was broken during the inspection.  

I am looking into a company right now that does rent guarantee insurance and also does in lieu of deposit will issue a bond that the tenant basically gets charged a monthly fee for.

@Malcolm Brown it is great that you are thinking of the money to fund the deals you are going to get started with but understanding what a deal is, I think, should be the starting point. 

In the unfortunate event someone passes away and the property transfers via probate or a will, that fair market price gets "stepped up" so no taxes are paid.I would check with a CPA, but this is my understanding.

So we would have to get a loan, pay off the seller and transfer title and then wait the seasoning period before doing a refi unless there is a bank out there that will treat it as a refi off the bat

If you want to be active, you will get a lot of good advice on this Forum about what market to invest in and what type of active property. 

Assume that you're sitting on:$200,000 in suspended passive losses$150,000 in business losses$100,000 in expiring NOLsThe Magic Transformation:That $500,000 of "painful" ordinary income becomes your strategic advantage:Absorbs all $450,000 of those otherwise-stranded lossesLeaves you with just $50,000 net ordinary incomeMeanwhile, your §1250 gain still gets preferential rates:$581,820 at 25% max (unrecaptured §1250)$700,000 at 20% max (capital gain)The Plot Twist:What looked like a tax nightmare actually solved multiple problems.

Its a lot less headache to file the insurance claim and get this taken care of. 

@Dave McIntyre were you able to / are you ever able to get access to the property after winning the bid but before closing (assuming it's  a vacant property)?