It is unfortunately a very risky thing to invest with individuals.

As an individual investor it’s nearly impossible to wear all three hats and execute efficiently and effectively, especially on a large scale.

A rental in SD 1 (A -C rating) will always have higher demand (and usually higher rent) than the rental down the street in SD 2 (D - F).

They can't assess all the subjective data like overall layout, view from the living room window, the dogs next door that bark all day, the width of doorways, size of individual rooms, quality of kitchen cabinets and appliances, etc.The best thing to do is study your market regularly.

And if you go under contract as an individual, can you then JV with another investor or is it too late?

Pensacola has a lot of potential, and I’ve seen investors do really well in the area with both long-term and short-term rentals.Since you’re just getting started, here are a few tips that might help:Know Your Market: Pensacola’s mix of military families, college students, and tourists means there’s a steady demand for rentals.

You can run one-off searches for phone numbers and email addresses, and they often have promos for new users.Spokeo for Professionals: While not specifically real estate-focused, it’s a reliable option for finding contact info for individual property owners, especially for one-off searches.Forewarn: This is great for verifying contact details and gives a bit more intel on leads.

We typically alter our strategy seasonally, as demand shifts with the seasons.

When an individual landlord prices their rental, they do based on what the other ones in the neighborhood have rented for. 

I've found other investment strategies to be far more profitable and far less demanding to operate.