Then you are off to the races you want to run.When I read a variation on the "hate my job and I want passive income" I always think...so what?

(Slight variation of the scheme - vacation renter pays rent, but falls under L.A. rent control laws.)

Rich Dad's Cash Flow Quadrant (I've a few of the variations, but this is one's my fave)2.

Or some variation on this.  

RE has large degrees in variation around norms not only in asset type and class, but also location, thus making sweeping generalities at best useless and at worse harmful. 

You need to buy some kitchen equipment, one or two of the good basic cookbooks like "The Joy of Cooking" or Bittman's "How to Cook Everything," and build a sustainable repertoire of 10-15 cheap, healthy dinners with a few variations each that you can put together easily and quickly.Better for your pocket, better for your mental health because it will help ground you, better for your love life because smart, capable people appreciate personal cooking skills in others.The top three expenses of the American household, as @Scott Trench's book taught me, are housing, transportation, and food.

Actually, Marvin - it is just like on Facebook when someone who is friends with you has a button next to their name that says "Friends" (you don't always have to click back to their profile to confirm, or when you search for a name on Twitter and all the people with that name, or some variation of it, are listed in the results, Twitter indicates which ones are following you, and which ones you are following, with an icon that is either filled with blue or white (on certain platforms).This is a similar concept.

Its 2008 all over again with expected differences.Remember that there is always a silence before the storm and only well seasoned investors  will see slight variations.

I have done a similar variation on this strategy though (see below)A few more ideas...Cons: Tenants who already have plenty of furniture (and then some) may be turned off; Turn overs can be tougher with more items to clean, inspect, track, or move (work around) for painting, cleaning, etc.

A lot of good suggestions here which I also follow, although with some variations (I look for 2.5x the rent in verifiable income, for example).