I dont know how well pre-existing tenants were screened.

What's up BP,I'm about to rent out my first property (house hack) in central VA to tenants that aren't friends - as in, I went through the full screening process and application.

I would screen her, and if she passes, put her on the lease and move on.

buyers are liars  sellers are liars.. you used him for information he sends you one text you found weird and then you buy through another agent.. if i was that agent I would just erase you from my contacts your totally reading way to much into things and assumptions etc.But like my dad said when we owned our brokerages and some agents are just flat jerks and some are sweet as can by and everything in the middle.. my dad said just put a $ sign on them.. if they bring you dollars who cares dont take it personal.I just close a deal yesterday with a wholesale company that I totally flamed here on BP because of rotten deals in Texas but i used them in another market since they brought me the highest price.. 

@Mark Greenawalt For rentals, I would recommend a semi-gloss paint as opposed to flat paint so that marks and stains can be easily wiped off.

The market in the town has been somewhat flat, but rising slightly...maybe 3% per year.

Second step would be to develop your application and screening process.

In working with either wholesale or an agent, make sure you do a lot of screening questions.

But it sounds like you already have some experience as an agent, so I'd say you have two options besides a local brick and mortar:A 100% commission flat fee brokerage.

Applied a flat % gain on rent increases annually, doesn't account for mortgage payoffs, applies same tax rate across time regardless of income changes, etc.