Vet anyone you get referred online heavily. 

I want to have a game plan in action prior to reaching out to lenders. 

I am new to the game with 1 property leased to section 8 under my belt and was about to buy another.

Does anyone do an online application?

There is a lot of conflicting info online in regards to these situations. 

A borrower really needs to have at least some "skin in the game" to make lenders feel comfortable.

Here's a list of things to track:- Formal lease application- Formal signed and executed lease specific to your state- Payment history (I recommend using online rent collection like Apartments.com, RentRedi, etc)- Maintenance requests and receipts- Accounting for all rental-related expenses (repairs, utilities, etc) The more you treat it like a business, the more helpful you are to your CPA come tax time. 

Honestly, it seems like you’ve got more skin in the game than I do since I’m just getting started as a bird dog, but I really admire your approach.I think your focus on tax-efficient strategies and building a reliable team is spot on.

If you are looking at a 300 unit apartment complex with a $100mm purchase price, then typically you want large, diverse economic, growing cities.If you are buying an Airbnb, well this is a marketing game. 

On the surface, it’s a game-changer.