Without the relationships directly or indirectly you leave yourself vulnerable to being as they say; getting milked like a cow. ;) Join the fun and invest in the Comeback City.......Go Detroit Go!!!

With rates where they are today if you are not going to house-hack there are other ways to place some money into real estate that are more indirect (i.e. fractional shares, REITs, etc.). 

A powerful way to approach anyone is the indirect approach: “Do you know of anyone who might be looking to hire or that is seeking an intern?”

You are indirectly getting a "benefit" by being able to report the expenses without any income(since you didn't receive cash).2 - For tax return purposes, you can offset rental income from one property with rental losses from another property.

The tenant proposed that he will pay for the insurance deductible in order to cover the damages.My concerns are that given my previous interactions with him, he doesn't fulfil his promises and kind of hinted in an indirect way that i can just keep his deposit.  

Just click on that magnifying glass at the top right corner of your screen and type in "direct mail marketing" "yellow letters" "post cards" and any other topic you would like to know about marketing. 

@Isaac Curiel As far as I know, for Venmo, you will require a business account to collect rent, since by using a personal account, you are in direct violation of their User Agreements.

What % of bookings are coming in direct now?     

I have heard of Sheriff's refusing to enforce "laws" passed by government officials that are in direct contradiction to the Constitution, but not a legal court order.

Indeed, the "downfall" of SEO is that you can't target people without internet.You can, ... but indirectly.