Besides having a personal friend to mentor you, this is the next best place to learn.

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of each approach based on my experience:Tenant Swapping:Pros:Tenant Retention: Keeps the property occupied, which helps avoid vacancy periods.Minimizes Turnover Costs: No need for cleaning, marketing, or re-screening tenants if the new person is already known.Flexibility for Tenants: Can be seen as a more tenant-friendly approach, allowing them to find a replacement without facing penalties.Cons:Risk of Unknown Tenants: The new tenant might not be as reliable as the original one, leading to potential issues down the line.Lease Violations or Delays: If the new tenant doesn’t meet the lease requirements or fails to sign a new agreement, this can lead to complications.Operational Complexity: Keeping track of the lease terms, managing paperwork, and ensuring proper screening for new tenants can increase administrative work.Notice for All (One Notice to Vacate for Everyone):Pros:Clear Expectations: Everyone knows what’s expected, and there are no surprises with last-minute tenant changes.Consistency: Easier to manage leases and tenant turnover with a straightforward system.Quality Control: You can screen all tenants that are moving in, ensuring the new occupant meets your standards.Cons:Longer Vacancy Periods: The property may stay vacant for longer, especially if finding a replacement tenant takes time.Tenant Frustration: Current tenants may not be happy with the requirement to vacate, even if they want to stay.Marketing and Re-screening Costs: You’ll have to go through the process of finding and screening new tenants, potentially leading to increased costs and downtime.I’d love to hear what others are doing!

Family, friends, and co-workers may already know someone looking to sell.

Feel free to PM me, I'm happy to pass on friendly tips!

Too tenant (yes tenant) friendly and I wouldn't want to lose my house.

I have seen all sides of this equation, self managing my own properties locally, but moved with the Navy 1000 miles away and managed the same rentals from afar, and had friends here in Memphis that had 18 properties and had them all with PMs with varying levels of success, some bad and some great.Self-managing brings about an additional level of responsibility that most of the time is fine, but that is not what you hire a PM for.

Anyone familiar with rental mgmt companies in and around greater Houston area (TX) that are investor friendly and can recommend to help me market, screen and place qualified tenants?

She found a PM through a friend in the building and they sent me the contract to review.

Wherever you invest you'll want to focus on building your Core4 team of an investor-friendly real estate agent, lender, contractor, and property manager. 

Normally you have to buy in more challenging neighborhoods, so are you willing to do that, and are your friends willing to do that.