.- I was scared to drop out of law school In 2021 and go all in on REI, I’m super happy with my decision.Now, whenever I’m scared/nervous, I take that as a sign that I should probably do it, and that it’s room for growth.Yes, sometimes it will be a mistake, but that’s how you learn.4) Value Relationships over everythingGood relationships will bring you more joy and take you farther than being selfish and/or greedy.What principles do you live by?

I'm an independent agent here in AR and I write a lot of rental property, with ~6 preferred markets and if the properties have some issues, age, claim history etc.

In neighborhoods that won't attract high credit score tenants, I've found that a stable job history with a MINIMUM of 1 year at current or previous job to be the best indicator of a great tenant. 

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

-- We focus on verifying 2-year work history and verifying rent payments with last 2 landlords (unless in same property for 5+ years).3) MoveIn Specials: be careful with offering "free rent" as will just attract tenants with no cash.-- Try free TV or something else worth 25-50% of one month of rent.-- Or, what we do is offer the free rent AFTER & ONLY if they pay their first 3 months of rent on time to earn it.4) Lower the rent 5% every 2-4 weeks until activity picks up.5) Understand this is the worst time of year to find tenants.-- Starts picking back up end of February when this tenant pool starts getting their income tax refunds and aren't broke anymore.6) Section 8: where is the property being advertised?

That said, I am thinking about Wake Forest, Garner, Apex as frontrunners based on the fact that they are closer to RTP and have generally good schools.

What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.?

Our lender has informed us that we need 12 months of rental history to use the actual rent for financing purposes, or we must rely on the appraiser's fair market short term rental value.

What is their previous rental history like?

This could help secure a higher LTV while you build STR rental history.