How do you get a sense of if people are living there so you can plot out your preliminary exit strategy of whether to modify the loan or do foreclosure or something else?  

Any tips or tricks for staying organized and tracking leads effectively?

I will need to remove the carpet and replace it with something durable and cost effective. 

If you want to generate revenue, you have to learn to be more effective.

Quote from @Reid Chauvin: @Manuel Reza - if the rooms are furnished, furnished finder is a great option for both short and mid-term stays thanks Reid, is $99 per year, I guess is well worth it, meaning is effective, do you think so?

if your doing a senior project I would suspect your best and most cost effective landing solution is going to be a local community bank that loves real estate.. in my experience most will want 50% down on the dirt and a ton of experience and a really strong balance sheet.Myself I always pay cash for the dirt this makes finding a lending partner much easier.

Being able to enter a property with only 5% down means you can leverage your money way more effectively as well.

Holding EXEMPT (from bankruptcy forfeiture) assets, holding assets in exempt entities (retirement accounts, pensions, IRAs, in some states insurance and annuities), homestead exemption, remote entity protection (LLC, Serial LLC, Corporations, Limited Partnerships,) Asset Protection Trusts, using separation of assets for married individuals (in certain states) charitable remainder trust, etc. can be very effective though can be costly. 

There's potentially a domino effect in the event of an unforeseen major expense exceeding my reserves (mainly thinking in terms of natural disasters) affecting my whole portfolio.  

Both approaches can be effective, but they come with different sets of considerations.Turnkey properties are often a safer choice, especially for those just starting out.