Study the market.

https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/study-reveals-....Not sure BP will allow that link to post, if not just google " 10000 saved using a broker vs direct lender" and you can find the article.On the flip side, there are some banks and credit unions that could offer products that they do not allow to be brokered.

you might say something like, "I’ve been studying Austin and Denver for rental properties and have a $200,000 price limit—what are the pros and cons of both markets?"

Something I discovered recently is; if you have a QBO Accountant start your company and allow the Accountant to get billed, you will get a 30% discount even after one year, but if you create your QBO without a QBO Accountant you disqualify yourself from their Accountant discount. 

If the tenant hides something or lies and I discover it later, that is grounds for termination.

Ones that are studying a lot or working while in school.

After 35 years I’ve developed a healthy respect for this business from the school of hard knocks.The day I’ve discovered this business is easy or simple will be a good day to retire.

Very simple - tell them to call me if they can't figure it out.I would not tell the tenant what I was doing and if it was ever discovered that I had done it - I would explain that I did it as a standard safeguarding of my property - in case the original thermostat should ever fail while no one was there to monitor the space temperature - the backup thermostat would save us all from freezing damage.

I would study the listings from the top performing rentals in your area to see how they are overcoming any challenges with location.

During my REI investing journey I've done 7 1031’s, then followed each of these up with cost segregation studies.