At one time, I told people to spend money on a skip trace so they could file the in personam QT lawsuit (the one where you can served lawsuit papers on all defendants) and avoid the expense of the in rem QT lawsuit (the one where you need a GAL).

Just thank your deity that you don’t live in a rent controlled city/state.

In the event of an acquisition your "Checkbook Control" set up would not change.

They yield results, but I understand a lot of other people have jobs where they cannot spend so much time on their listings. 

I agree that some groups take the money making aspect to far and are simply taking advantage of enthusiastic newbies.The two groups I spend most of my time at now are not REIAs, The BWI Meetup and a group of landlords that get together for a casual lunch once a week.

We don’t use the 70% rule for anything except to decide if we’re going to look at the deal… and even then we just want to see if it’s close before we spend time running numbers.

By the time I retire, I want to have enough rental properties to have financial independence to enjoy my hobbies and enjoy spending time with my family and watch my children grow up.

It’s simple, people who spend good money on the home of their dreams don’t want STR’s next door to them.  

Don't spend your time with other agents as a focus. 

Hope to spend more time here in retirement.