Passive Investment - Buying and holding performing notes for interest income and or investing in debt fund/partials ownership Active Investment - Buying non performing notes to either modify to reperformimg or foreclose for real estate ownership; “working” the notes in your portfolio; or “creating” high yielding investments through various meansNote BUSINESS - Running a note fund; syndicating notes, buying and selling notes, creating partials, brokering notes, etc. 

Enhance your listings with high-quality photos, virtual tours, and detailed descriptions.Incentives: Offer move-in specials or discounts, such as the first month free or reduced security deposits, to attract tenants.3.

Either they have the money (high pay jobs) or they don't. 

It’s an effective tool and for me has been very useful.

Your thought process on the contractor providing quotes to possibly "win" a job may seem correct on surface level as a lot of businesses offer "free-mium" products - but ultimately time is money, especially in real estate where good contractors are in high demand and could better spend their time finishing a project before accepting the next one. 

What tenant screening tools do you use?

buck stops with meindex funds and REITs: low control, high liquiditysyndications - ? 

@Stephen Burch VA loan would be a great tool to use to start your investment journey!

I am interested to know, what tool or tools or even steps do many of you experienced investors rely on when analyzing the numbers to determine if the listing is worth contacting an agent for a showing? 

You are highly unlikely to curb the tenant's behavior because:1) It seems they've been doing what they want for a while and now feel entitled2) Your post shows you don't have the assertiveness necessary to deal with this situationSo, recommend you either hire an attorney to start the eviction process or handle a PMC.