The property is located near two colleges, so I’m focusing on student tenants and planning for 12-month lease terms.Do you have any tips or advice for renting by the room?

Waco Texas is a known city that has a very good Private College, Baylor University.

With the above said we have a 75 acre country subdivision coming online this spring.  100% cash.  

Do you use a “book” for information or an online service ?

Not sure if that is still legal or even translates in today's world of everything online but seemed like a good screening tool to me at the time. 

We use DealCheck to underwrite deals and QuickBooks Online for everything related to accounting and budgeting.

Once you master it, its an awesome tool.Like the other members say, you can easily find it online, however, i strongly recommend you watch the videos (that come with the calculator when you buy it for a lil over $100) so you can learn how to use it properly.

This owner found a free lease template online that provided very little landlord protections. 

I would say that I have closed 1/2 of my deals with brokers that found me what I was looking for and the others I found online by myself.  

They will have additional costs for mailing & online campaigns to get leads.