If you are talking to the next landlord and assuring them the tenant will be getting the deposit from you on xx/xx/xx date, they may be willing to let them move in before actually receiving it.

Not only did I not want to ever have to pay for such a job involving mold ever again, I needed to be assured my health would not be at risk nor any tenants.

I contacted the title company and they assured me they transferred the title with the county and they indicated that everything would be straightened out ASAP !....

This assures the highest percentage of hassle free land lording, in my opinion.

He has assured me that she will leave and has agreed to move with her daughter.

By the time an agent has the property in their inventory, you can almost rest assured it won't be a solid investment and you'll have to negotiate through agents rather than working direct with the seller.  

Further, with the hot construction market, your bids will be almost assuredly be exorbitant.I think you already have the right thinking on renting the property out given Berkeley's insane rent control rules.

The PM I originally hired was soooo nice at the beginning, educated me about the PM process, had a good rate, assured me that they had my best interest in mind.

More Millionaires were made through real estate...I can assure you, making a 5% to 7% cap rate and dealing with tenants is NOT a way to BECOME a Millionaire.

They are most assuredly policing the str's much harder than we expected!!