., the new RI rental registry and associated lead paint inspections/certificates).It's up to you whether you're able to do it, but I think you'll get a lot out of the experience if you can try it for a year or two.

Clean-up costs- make sure you have sufficient coverage.D. 

If you’re trying to handle everything yourself, it can quickly turn into a full-time job.From what I’ve seen, a well-trained VA can take a huge workload off your plate by handling:Tenant Screening & Communication – Answering inquiries, pre-qualifying tenants, and scheduling showings.Lease & Document Management – Sending and tracking lease agreements, renewals, and keeping paperwork organized.Rent Collection & Follow-Ups – Tracking payments, sending reminders, and ensuring rent is collected on time.Maintenance Coordination – Managing repair requests and keeping everything running smoothly.But here’s the key—you can’t just hire a VA and expect them to magically know your process.

My opinion is a SFR in an established area will help you keep occupancy up and also gives the better opportunity to sell later.

Its definitely a big cost/premium risk allocation discussion

Thanks for this excellent write up, Julie, and for shedding light on a very important subject!

As soon as the year membership is up, I'm leaving.

Hi Eric, Have you lined up the financing portion yet?

What area are you in, have you locked up any properties yet?

Very difficult area to be a landlord.Tenant base is lifer tenants. very tough on the housestheft is rampant you leave a home vacant for more than a few days and you HVAC AC unit will take a walkKids break in and trash them.YAZOO Clay screws up the foundations big time.And lastly with those homes they were built so cheap in many instances they are just functionally obsolete and take way more maintenance than other areas of the country.