My new tenants appreciate having a building run by the landlord and not by some dirtbag tenant who strikes fear into his heart with a text message.I also make sure that any prospective tenant understands that a background check will show evidence of any matter brought in landlord tenant court no matter who initiates it.

may be viewed as less onerous, and give you a bigger pool of applicants.I do agree that you are removing some of the less serious applicants with your cozy application, but you need to strike a balance that weeds out the tire kickers, without pushing away the serious ones too.

I would search both OTA's for multiple property managers, and strike up a conversation. 

@Cheryl Daniels  I use a "three strike" rule with my tenants: I will try to work with them for scheduling visits.

Very casual, and very welcoming, it will be easy to strike up a convo with other in rei while you're there.

My partner knew he would probably lose some money but was ok with that because he was able to strike a deal with my investor securing the use of his money for another year.   

Once we come to an agreement I will either type up a new offer or if there is only minor changes will strike and initial on original offer.

What tools can a consumer/invester use to ensure they will be protected if disiaster strikes? 

What if an asteroid strikes?

@Andre Pinheiro"Good" is a subjective term, but there are opportunities in Phoenix for positive cashflow in such areas, although it may take a little work acquiring properties since you have to strike quickly to get MLS deals, use direct marketing to find deals on your own, or use wholesalers to find the discounted homes.