We have done 3 direct mailers to absentee owners and this time we have had a great response.The problem we seem to be having is they are all mainly landlords and want top dollar for their properties.Is this the normal problems you have with direct mailing?

That does a lot to keep everyone behaving themselves.

As Minna recommends, I will be watching how they behave.

It's one thing when an applicant says they have a pet - you can check out how well-behaved it is and how well the owners have trained that pet (and vice versa with respect to training of owners by the pet) before accepting them.

They at first wanted a pet, but once I spelled out the deposits and gave them my pet rules, they said no, we won't be having any pets here - so I just left it as No Pets Allowed.

You'll learn a lot about animal behavior and how people behave. 

They could be having money problems, etc.I do ask my real estate investing experienced lawyer questions as well about cases like this to ensure I am taking proper steps and preventive measures.

But the end goal should be having you remove yourself from the business and have the business be self sustaining.

It can happen with MFRs too, but I'm hearing there's more turnover in MFR.On the flip side, in the Ventura market, I'm noticing some landlords seem to be having more trouble renting their houses (SFR).

(some don't because it broke down, but the family have a brand new 50" tv) Visiting the family you will get a sense of how the kids behave in their own comfortable environment.