I am biased, and feel strongly the #1 mistake is not establishing rental acceptance criteria prior to vetting applicants -- which then allows for emotion in the critical phase of selecting residents.   

I'm will admit that i'm a little biased because I live here and invest here.

I wont bias your opinion with my own.

In spite of your brutally biased against landlords Act over there you’re in a solid position here.

You are asking a biased group the question of whether or not paying for education is worth it.

You can't deny their applications based on their gender. 

I am alienating a lot of the rental market since I want someone with a job, a specific gender, and a non-smoker with no pets.

As for real estate investment I am obviously biased but I believe it will be a great long term investment for a variety of reasons.

Imagine my surprise last night, when the REIA meeting had both genders, wasn't really a local REIA meeting and instead was a MLM meeting. 

If you're just starting out, I would recommend doing it the way I did, maybe I'm biased, but I think I would be able to look back and recognize if I was wrong.