@Melissa SejourRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

When a tenant moves out, transfer the deposit back to Checking so it's ready to apply towards expenses or refund the Tenant.If you end up with excess funds in the Checking account, I recommend you transfer it to a third account designated explicitly for future investments.

With the massive increase in STR properties in the US, I am hopeful that lenders and appraisers will evolve to apply income/exp metrics to STR deals specifically, on top of generic property comps.

Learn what each one of these are, and see which makes the most sense to apply to your specific financial plan. $150 cash flow on any rental especially a triplex is dangerzone imo. 1 month of vacancy of 1 unit could destroy a years worth of financial gains.  

Over the years, I’ve learned a ton, and now I’m applying that experience to my Real Estate practice.

., $25 or $50)- If they use autopay for timely payments, they pay just the base rent ($1,000)In the above example, you see that a discount of $25-50 was applied in the case that the tenant chooses to setup autopay to schedule on-time payments via a given PM software.Please let me know if any software comes to mind and also any feedback on the positive incentive idea.Thanks in advance!

Applying a value add strategies can get you to much much more equity rather quickly.

I would consult with your bank before making any moves if this applies. 

They tell you right at the start in which states you can apply this freely, which states have certain restrictions and which states you cannot do this without a license. 

I wouldn't hesitate to consider it, but the same fundamentals still apply.