But as you say, some are doing it.While I do believe in second chances, I just don’t know that I want to be the second chance, knowingly.I inherited tenants with my first purchase and little did I know that they had prior evictions, guess it just goes to show you, before you go showing your teeth at the closing table, happy as can be, do your due diligence to know what you are really taking on when seller suggests taking on existing tenants with the sale.

@Adam Mazzochi @David Krulac  I think David will agree that Tax sales are very regional.you have tax cert sales  and tax deed sales then something in the middle.. its far more complicated out in the upper east than it is say in CA were I cut my teeth.. in CA its tax deed just like buying a foreclosure.and now a days you bid on line through Bid 4 Assets at most counties.. in the old days you went to the court house and it would be full.. but the bid process was much slower than an east coast tax cert sale.I have been to tax cert sales in MS for example they will sell 30,000 tax certs in 3 days it goes at lighting speed and there is virtually no way to hone in on one property and buy it..Maybe in your area it slows down and you can bid on what your aiming for..

@Lauren Weiss  OH ya I cut my teeth and sold land and ranchs and did development work in Northern CA from 1975 when I first got my RE license until 2001 when I moved to ORYGUN..

Are there ANY benefits whatsoever to employing day laborers over contracted laborers?

However, be careful when choosing to use a Quit Claim Deed:A person receiving a purported real estate interest via a quitclaim deed may receive no legal right to the property whatsoever.

The tenants and I commented about it among ourselves a couple times but aside from the novelty of that it has not impacted anything whatsoever.

First of all, @Ikenna Okafor be careful when choosing to use a Quit Claim Deed:A person receiving a purported real estate interest via a quitclaim deed may receive no legal right to the property whatsoever.

Believe me when I tell you there is zero extra work and expense attached to answering no to a tenant’s request.None of this advice will preclude you from being the best landlord that a tenant has ever had.After a year if you want to go out and give 10% of your hard earned GROSS income, well at least you will be in a better position to evaluate and manage your rental manager.But you won’t, because you will enjoy it after a month... and then after a couple of more you will think nothing more of it then brushing your teeth. 

Yes I use it - no problems with it whatsoever.

Been poking around for a while, trying to sink my teeth and money into some units.