I've been studying up for a long time and ready to take the plunge once I can save up some funds, unless I can find a good hard money lender willing to make a deal.I work in IT for the government, but my primary goal is to have enough properties that I can become FI and quit my day job to do this full time.

main thing to remember, UK and los angeles have very different economics.... local economies in each specific area in los angeles even vary quite a bitthe income or industry in south la vs west la vs north la are all very different.pick an area and dissect it make the best decision"ghettos" in Los Angeles have a lot of life long renters that are very much govt subsidized  so you are not investing with a tenant but more so with the government and managing a tenant as a way to get a premium 

So hours might not be cut but (insert something stupid) happened and rent will be late etc....Or the constant budget issues facing our government also can impact their pay.Generally speaking you're right though a member has more to lose than the average Joe, but that doesn't make all of them good tenants.

This is consistent for most guidelines (state, industry, federal). 

- Do you purchase federal Flood Insurance for your rentals? 

Also, when you hear about "sanctions" against countries and people, there is a federally maintained database of verboten persons. 

I get credit score, history and criminalbackground checks for felony on state and federal levels, homeland security list check, sexual predator lists and eviction history. 

What’s a great place to start searching for grants today

Apparently we as property managers are required to withhold 3.07% of owner's income for out of state owners and properly file that withholding with the federal government.

You may want to check your local housing authority or commission for the exact guidelines that govern your area.Hope this helps!