And it turns out, we've got a late contender who's proving to be squeaky clean--so glad!

Taxes run around 10,000 lot of money to put out on house sitting there that still has surviving residents living in it that will have to contend with.

And it's pretty obvious that your tenants "lied" (although they might contend they didn't actually lie, just didn't tell you the entire story) but then, many tenants lie or shade the truth.I once had a tenant who told me she had "several" children. 

Leading contenders that do investment properties (including 5+ apartments) in AZ are RCN, LimaOne, and I'm looking into Atlantic Union.

Pretender versus contender?  

Use a rule-of-thumb to narrow down the field to the most likely contenders.

(I currently invest in the Catskills in NY and am not contending with regulations...yet!)

Job growth, and housing affordability should continue to make Atlanta an attractive market for investing in rental properties throughout 2022.When it comes to thriving metropolitan areas with relatively reasonable home prices, Atlanta is a serious contender as the best real estate market in America.

Today, how hard is to find a good property, how long a property stays in the market, and how many offers do you have to beat to only be in the top 5 contender? 

Just makes things perhaps easier for both of you.I think you want skin in the game....you want reserves for when things go wrong...ACs go out, roofs need replaced, tenants destroy the property and you have a big rehab bill and a 2-3-4 month vacancy to contend with.....