He tells you there isn't any shortcut and that you need to budget, save, cut down on debt, follow the baby steps. 

You’re in it now, this is your baby for the next few years, just stay close to it.

I once had to throw out an urn of baby ashes from a tenant who left it behind.

What Dave Ramsey calls a "baby emergency fund" of $1000 goes a long way toward making a sudden breakdown from an emergency into a minor annoyance.I would expect a professionally managed apartment complex to be sticklers for getting the rent. 

Because now you feel like a total jerk when they tell you that they lost their job, or their baby is sick and the hospital bills were a higher priority than rent. 

OC is only going to appreciate once the waterfall project is done, and more millenials make babies and can't afford Portland/don't want to send their kids to PPS. 

I'll give my thoughtsThey couldn't really afford it because a through background check was not doneJob LossJob relocationEviction - they stopped paying because ...They need a bidder place due to new baby or family member that comes to live with themThey get put in jailThey need a cheaper placeThey want a shorter commute to workDivorceDeath (in family or one of tenants)You raised the rent too muchPerceived or actual problem with the houseHigh Utilities at your house

No car washing, no baby pools, etc.

Be realistic about what having a baby entailers.

We tackled the units one at a time, turning over difficult tenants and babying the good ones.