Whether any future landlord will contact your current landlord to determine your recent payment history involves a crystal ball that none of us have. 

No-one has a crystal ball and no-one can tell you what the market is going to do....if they try to they are either 1) full of SH*T or 2) they are really really high up in the FED and might actually know something so pay attention to them hahaha! 

Long-distance REI is great if you have a team and meet the number you determined in your crystal clear criteria. 

@Crystal Smith Thing is I started my business end of last year but haven't gotten any properties yet.

You should double-check the laws and ordinances for your area.I operate in Georgia and our Lease Agreement makes it crystal clear that appliances, such as a refrigerator, are provided as a convenience to the resident, but that no portion of the rent is attributable to them.So, no, we would not spend money repairing/replacing an ice maker.We might consider crediting some portion of the repair cost toward the resident's future rent if they paid for the repair themselves (using one of our preferred and approved contractors, of course.) 

As for the market - nobody has a crystal ball, but I would absolutely have the same concerns.

So even if lenders start to post and foreclose in Jan-Feb-Mar....it's probably another 6-12 months before we see those home hit the market.Some economist say we are already out of the recession so when these start to hit the market in 12 months it is just the start of another party.That's my crystal ball.

@Dain Herrala I'd say get crystal clear on your criteria first, as @Corey Hawkinson has done.

No one has a crystal ball - if we did, then everyone would be investing in sure bets and it wouldn't pay anything.

Quote from @Crystal Smith: Quote from @Greg Kusnierz: Looking at a single family home with an in-law apartment in the basement.