But everything has been profitable and now we know what to look out for to significantly mitigate risk so I'm so much more confident in this asset class now.BestChris

You can't mitigate every single type of risk. 

Personally, I wouldn't try to mitigate getting these tenants unless you are very much hating rerenting the unit, and just don't like the extra work.

One of those guidelines is to stay out of hybrid states, to mitigate the amount of REO a leveraged tax buyer acquires. 

As far as mitigating default, I do 3 things: 1.

In Detroit you take risk automatically and therefore have a higher potential return but to mitigate that risk you need effort and knowledge.

It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.Google Clayton Morris and/or Morris Invest for a cautionary tale of what not to do when buying turnkey real estateUnderstand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it.

It would be a good idea to ask about their fees and who keeps them as well as what they do to try to mitigate their fee. 

The higher the risk, the more money I need up front to mitigate that risk.Credit scores are heavily relied on, but I consider 14 other things along the way.

If you have a strong PM company and a plan to keep it managed that will help mitigate your downside but like Mike Tyson once said, everyone has a plan until they have to file two evictions in one month.