We refunded his 200 dollar pet deposit (Illinois has put ESAs on par with working animals, so we had to refund it), although he says we did not (we do have proof of this).   

And in a few months, you will be in a good position to crank up your cash flow.We start advertising 4 months before the next school cycle with hopes of having signed leases and deposits at least 2-3 months before they move in. 

Landlords can enter a tenant's property for a variety of reasons, including: Making repairs or replacements Responding to a tenant's request Removing unauthorized window coverings Preventing waste of utilities Changing filters, testing, or replacing smoke detector batteries Inspections Helping with an emergency inside the unit Posting a notice of eviction"Research your state laws because some of your comments indicate a lack of understanding of the landlord/tenant laws where you are operating (like threatening the tenants to keep the security deposit if they don't respond to you, I doubt that is actually a valid reason to keep their deposit, or evicting for late payments, or charging the tenants for your warranty repairs because you missed your 11 month inspection window which was your responsibility, and it looks like your lease says you can charge up to 18% interest for unpaid fees, is that actually legal?).

Income tax refund (forced savings account where govt keeps your interest) gives them the cash they need for first month's rent + security deposit.10) Realities of S8: most tenants no longer have 100% of rent paid by the program.- Good luck getting them to pay their portion for the duration of their lease- Be careful including utilities in the rent as they then won't care about a running toilet resulting in a $500 water bill.- S8 tenants don['t want to pay application fees- S8 tenants cry broke about paying security deposits- S8 tenants in the program for 10+ years claim ignoreance on filling out their paperwork because they've learned a desperate landlord will do it for them.If you want a S8 tenant, you MUST advertise on www.AffordableHousing.com

(I guess that's what the $3K to $4K deposit is for)(3) Is it difficult to find private money @ 12% over 5 years to fund these deals?

Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

Hopefully, they don't go bankrupt lol - In order to get started with the process, I have to pay $1000 deposit. Fully

Only thing better would be initial deposit and then paid in full upon Certificate of Occupancy and punchlist complete.Of course, standard items should also be checked: licensed, insured, willing and able to pull all required permits, reference checks.I would also commonly avoid the cheapest bid you get.  

Since mid August til now I have lost 5 tenants, well two left deposits and moved in prior to the month.

Wise is an international bank that allows you to deposit and display statements in whatever currency you choose.