There is a $35.00 Non refundable background check that the applicant needs to pay to smartmove.Look at the ID of the person when they get to the property,.......and make sure it matches the person.....A quick tip on showing......and setting rental prices.......Do a "soft advertisement on Craigslist with all the info.....but without the actual address.....just the name of the street.....see if you get lots of responses quickly.......if you do......that means you need to take the ad down for a couple days and then re advertise it at a higher price..............I advertise on CL and when the phone rings.....Do NOT ANSWER.............let people leave voicemail .....you want to see if when they leave a message they sound like someone that you may feel comfortable talking with on a daily basis......And DO NOT DO OPEN HOUSES..............What you need to do is when the first person you talk to that you get a good vibe with expresses an interest in seeing the house......you tell them I'm showing it Saturday at 10am and Sunday at 3pm...........then be quiet.....they will pick a time.......and you repeat that process with everyone that calls and make sure it at or around the same time slot as everyone else.....Don't tell them other people will be there also......When they do show up and they see other people there also.....it creates more of a demand for the room :-)   Also...pick a time that is withinn 24 hours of talkin with the person....if you talk with them Monday afternoon....tell them you are showing it tonight at 7 and tommorow at 6.        

While I feel I'd be fairly comfortable financing (assuming the numbers work), one thing from Ramsey is still ringing in my head.

And for those willing to buy in a middle suburb or in one of the rings just outside of the cool areas, you can still find a reasonable home.

My experience is that most tenants are able to do that math if they have been renters before, and know if the overall rent plus whatever utilities you are including - is a good price or not.I agree that if your phone is ringing off the hook, you're definitely in the ball park. 

I've learned that what I value or don't appreciate doesn't ring true for my applicants.  

When you cross good buildings with good tenants, the only time your phone rings is when the tenant needs a reminder of where to send the rent! 

They can dig and rings of dead grass appear where they urinate.

The business line is presently forwarded to my cell phone but can be set to ring at home; it also goes to electronic voice mail which is emailed to me - very handy when I am out of the country.

If you have an extensive network of friends, family, business colleagues, neighbors etc to tap into, then you might make decent money in the first year.If I were you I'd definitively keep the job, for 2 main reasons: real estate isn't glamorous like it is on TV and as James mentioned most people quit, and realistically in the first year you won't be very busy unless you do time intensive stuff such as cold calling / door knocking etc.Trust me, you don't become a RE agent and all of a sudden the phone starts ringing non stop.

I now enjoy our smaller 1,700 sq ft home in AG.3) If you think any of #1 might ring true, consider keeping your existing home and pulling a HELOC before you make the move.