Buy or inherit and hold all their lives while working the properties for income.I've seen teachers, firemen, software engineers and all sorts of people utilize both strategies successfully.

It took me about seven years to be able to quit my job as an engineer.This was mainly from buying inexpensive properties from motivated sellers for cash.Buying nice STR's with leverage is a much longer game especially this environment. 

The good news is that once you gain traction you can hire a VA to cold call for you and then just talk to the most motivated sellers.

@Wesley Myers if there is nothing you can do from a legal standpoint, you can take matters into your own hands by putting some sort of block directly in front of the camera, of course, on your own side of the property.

Same thing for the senior living deal - I've had a bunch of people reach out - I'm not an expert but have been in it a bit - but no one has been willing to come meet me where I live and the business is at.Anyways I've come to the conclusion the apartment deals I'll want to look for I'll be getting Hud or some sort of other non recourse loan and will just do it myself with no one elses money. 

The SFH today is dilapidated and undoubtedly needs a face lift but because of the cashflow, the owner's not motivated to make repairs.

Money is not everyone's #1 motivator. 

Hard money is sort of a last resort, that's typically meant to be a short-term solution and will carry a higher rate and/or fees compared to most other options. 

What sort of discount (dollars and percent) are you getting for the squatter properties?

I first look to understand more about their situation and potential motivators/pain points.