I know this sounds like a big pain in the *** and for most people it is but the truth is if you have the tolerance for this you can make money, if you don't want to put in the extra effort and you count solely on people who know you are 2000 miles away, you are very likely to not get what you think you are paying for.You reap what you sew is the moral of the story.

Steve if you are newly licensed I suggest you go work for a property management firm before starting your own.You also need to determine WHAT you want to manage retail,apartment buildings,houses,etc.The operations are all different.Property management is the most sue happy of all real estate types.Usually a separate E and O policy is needed at a higher premium and a separate company so you can shield other operations.It's a big pain for a very low return.Good Luck

It seems like a pain to find them and then few of them that you find are really what you want (there is a reason they are being sold).If you have cash and are seeking a good return, create your own notes by becoming a private lender.

I'm sure the administration will come up with a rapid fix.

I sugget you check into MAS 90, it is a professional system, can be expanded to any business applicationg and has a real estate module, it is not mcu of a pain, but any system is a pain, IMO.

Drum sanders are a pain but putting the satin finish down is easy enough.

First thing is obvious legal advice needed on your entity structuring I.E managing LLC to manage your operation.I agree with your statement on assigning the % of beneficial interest to your LLC which does provide a good degree of asset protection ( no legal advice intended just my suggestion) since I work with land trusts and that is the preferred way to do this and you are effectively "layering" out any potential liabilities that is why land trusts and LLC or C corporations compliment each other so well.It is better to do this when the trust is created then to have to go back and do it just cleaner that way.In how we work with land trusts we use a corporate 503 (c) trustee corporation, who does all the trust administration so a management company really can not be used since it could invalidate your trust since the trustee performs a free collection service as well in their duties to the trusts beneficiaries.I would IMHO, separate an LLC to do the collections or use another licensed bonded company.The replies seem to be great advice since you would not wish to be commingling assets and you would want accurate management of your properties.Typically in a trust the tax burden falls to the trust beneficiaries and if you have a professional trustee you should have all tax statement from him on the payments received for tax purposes..Your estate planning or RE attorney should be able to structure for you a viable solution based on your tax structure since that is involved.Good luck to you..

these are very rough figures and you are close to break even, which means crazy college parties with broken fixtures or hole sin the wall will cost you and be a pain in the ***, kid doesn't pay, you can't get it rented because they just built a nice new campus housing project, the property has repairs and deffered maintenance, there is mold and leaks and rotting wood your inspector doesn't find, etc. and the turnover on campus property is generally once per year - turnover means adverstising costs etc.

When buyers hear moratorium they will automatically think it can affect a short sale too.There needs to be clarity on this issue and I look to the Obama administration who are 0 for 2 when it comes to helping the taxpayers.

The Bank of America case has made many bank executives painfully aware of potential paperwork problems.