- Talk to local banks once you own the home to start determining your options for capturing that equity via a HELOCWhere am I likely to mess up/ miss something?

This saves the tenant the hassle of getting appliances, my property the wear and tear of appliances coming and going, as well as allowing me to capture the extra profit. 

Depreciation does not figure into your cap gains, as depreciation capture gets taxed separately as ordinary income, up to 25%.

Just create a free account to capture some initial data, or you can always buy their data (don't buy their reports, just buy their raw data).  

Another improvement for the owner is putting in meters or setting up a RUBS program to capture and make utilities a recoverable cost. 

You may capture some helpful phrases and concepts by listening to that podcast.

When I sign a rental contract, I take one copy for the tenants to sign and I use my iPhone app “Cam Scanner” to capture the paperwork and convert to PDF.

When we had bedbugs show up in a unit, what they told us was the tenant had to capture one or kill one for them to be sure that's what the problem was.  

Be sure you have a completed move-in inspection check-list and do periodic inspections during tenancies, so you have something to compare against after the move-out.We also use a Return of Possession form, which makes it clear the property is back in our possession and captures the tenant's forwarding address.

You may want to consider reaching out to your State Bar's Lawyer Referral Service found here: http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyerOr, alternatively, you can ask your Creditor's Bar Association located here:http://www.ilcba.org/There are two kinds of Debt Collection firms; large "captured firms" that handle only major clients, and then small shops who handle solo clients like yourself.