I am not sure what type of real estate investing you're considering, but it sounds like, with your family and busy job, you won't have a lot of time to be hands-on or personally involved. 

The rental market is already showing signs of recovery:Spring Is Coming: Historically, the rental market picks up momentum in the spring as tenants prepare to move during warmer months or ahead of the school year.Early 2025 Trends Are Positive: In just the first week of January, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in rental applications, suggesting pent-up demand from renters who delayed their searches in November and December.What Landlords Can Do NowTo make the most of this recovery, consider:Refreshing Your Listings: Update your photos, descriptions, and pricing to ensure your properties stand out.Offering Incentives: Temporary discounts or move-in bonuses can help fill vacancies quickly.Being Patient: The market is already bouncing back, so don’t panic if your property takes a bit longer to lease than usual.What’s been your experience?

Hello. I just put my house for rent but I’m not sure where to do background check and what exactly look for when doing them. Can you please share what you use it would be great. Thank you. 

The purpose of marketing is to attract an in-person showing.

Be responsive, communicative, deliver on what you say you are going to deliver (e.g. photos are true representation of your properties, amenities reflect what you actually have).  

Hi everyone! I'm Igor - a revenue management expert with over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry. I started my career working for Marriott in New York and Toronto, specializing in dynamic pricing and...

What I take some issue with is the techniques that guru's use to up sell and so on .. and they do nothing to qualify if the person paying them if the program does not work they are now into debt to the eyeballs and so on but then again who are we to say at some point.. think of  Hewlet and Packard they went into 15k worth of debt to start HP in late 40s or early 50s and that was a ton of money then :)

If you don't get access to the property before closing it can be tricky but if there are recent photos online or you can walk through before and take your own then it is much easier.

Quote from @Monish Anand: Start by looking for personal recommendations from investors in that market, then look on realtor.com or a google search.DO NOT use agents suggested by a website like realtor, Zillow, etc.

what kind of investment was/is this  a little more detail may protect others if you think this person is a financial predator.