It is stealing as far as I'm concerned if the landlord took the money.In Georgia, there is no requirement to give adequate notice to the tenant if the landlord is foreclosed on.

Make sure you still have adequate reserves after closing to cover expenses that are sure to come up (repairs, maintenance, vacancies, etc.).

A big part of tenants treating properties badly is because people didn't screen the tenants adequately, so don't make that mistake. 

With that said, after talking to them many did not do sufficient and adequate research before buying. 

., are the "built in" tenant screening services adequate? 

There are too many people marketing "up and coming" areas that are generally pretty risky for OOS investors if they don't have an adequate team and resources.

We are considering if there is adequate ROI to finish the basement and increase the square footage of the house.

Also, 380 is a fairly small (but perfectly adequate) sample size, so it would have been surprising if you received a lot of calls on the first mailout. 

If they don't respond adequately prior to hiring them as a property manager or RE agent then they won't work once you have chosen them to represent you and protect your investment.  

Below is how I break down the 50% rule to my clients here in Connecticut.The 50% is a short term & long term view of maintenance that needs to be and will need to be done.It is much better to have adequate reserves than to be "chasing" that money for years after a significant unplanned repair needs to be made.Now, if the subject property has ZERO deferred maintenance and I mean ZERO, maybe there is some wiggle room, but I would still stick to the 50% rule.This way when repairs do come up you can take care of them and not leave them neglected because money is tight.Overpaying for a property impacts a lot of things including the ability to be patient when filling vacancies along with being able to address maintenance issues when they arise.Just my $.02.