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

-After the second eviction, I specifically asked FPM to focus on tenants with better credit scores, even if it took longer to find someone.

now, if you've boosted the ARV of the house via the rehab to 200K, you can do a cash out refinance, and put a long term mortgage on the property that is paid monthly.you will get "cash out" (minus closing costs) at closing. 

Or is it better to work with somebody in that particular market? 

Hey Mike, always nice to see attorneys who get into the investment game themselves, and great to hear about what you're doing.

You can set up a Wyoming LLC yourself.

I am wondering if I can claim it as a repair(counting against rental income) or if it must be claimed as an asset (with depreciation benefits)?  

It tries to do too many things and poorly at that. 

The biggest question you need to ask yourself is if you are doing this to afford a property you otherwise couldn’t afford or to save money period, that will lead to very different conclusions about where/if to buy. 

I may pay off my current house (6.625%), pay off half and buy 1-2 rentals or just refinance it and buy 3-4 rentalSI’m interested to see what you decide to do as wellJustin