Thanks, @Frankie WoodsWhen newbies send out letters and they do not know what to say, when to say,  and how to say it to home sellers, they are wasting money and time.Dont be a One Trick Pony, Be a Transaction Engineer. :)

I too am new and wanting to get started with little money so I don't waste my time on filling my head full of stuff I'm not ready for right now.  

So, without wasting your time get enrolled yourself in Indus Edutrain which will show you the way of your success.

If not, it'd be best to share which city this is in so locals can chime in.If this is in SD, there are a number of active multi-family buy-and-hold folks (myself included) active on BP who I'm sure would be willing to help make it happen for you.And, to your question, your next step is to figure out how likely it is you can get it under contract - in the current market, it's common to waste time thinking about things that are off the market in no time or won't actually get under contract for whatever reason.

Well, the money spent is a capital expense so you will be able to depreciate it on the property, so it's not as if it's wasted.

Normally, this is enough to get the listing agent motivated to get you a concession (they don't like having to waste time filing a useless police report, but they're obligated to do it if you make a big deal about it).Ultimately, I think you can get something in return. 

Many of those will own their own homes, but my strong suspicion is there are at least 5% of that number who would need to rent an apartment without the risk of wasting application fees due to a particular genre of felony from their past.

These are a waste of time:@Jay HinrichsMy "pearls" have to do with developing the right referral relationships.  

The other friend and I have minimal savings, but we have been studying real estate investing and determined that the friend with savings would help all of us reach our goals quicker.

That leaves me with $460/month to cover vacancy, any repairs that pop up which should be minimal since I'll rehab it as soon as the current tenants are out, and overhead (self managed).