Hello all,I am new to real estate investing and feel as though I have finally found a way to utilize my skills and personality to become independent and make a living on my own.

I had two properties that were going vacant at the same timeone was a dead beat tenant that I had to evict after she only paid two months rent.the other was on a house that I basically just put someone in to keep a person in the house to make sure it was occupied and wouldnt be vandalized.I have a dedicated contractor who will do good work for cheap but he was unavailable and i was cash poor. it looked like I may have had to just let the properties sit until I could come up with more money.then I got an idea rent the place as istake off the money I would have paid my contractor to do some of the work and get a handyman or licensed trade skill type guy.

I would use a Realtor with experience with that market and lender, your opinion of thier lack of skills is based on what?

Maybe you get that apartment complex and need someone to do some repairs or cleanup.....have skills in that area :).

In short, there's alot of work to do and little to no money to made, so nobody with basic math skills will touch them.

Everyone has their methods, and it really depends on your personality, skills, how much money you have to spend, how much time you have, etc.Personally, I'm doing a lot of direct mail these days.

We've made offers on 500 properties in 30 minutes and had great results.Your cost of marketing is time with this technique, and an intern with good computer skills can do all of this for you.

If so, I would take pictures, change the locks, and call it a day and re-rent it.If there's some stuff there and it's junk, I would discreetly get rid of it, take pictures, and deny (til you die) that there was anything there.If there's good stuff there (furniture, clothes, tools, appliances, medication, etc.)

We were foster parents for 15 years and helped 55 medically fragile infants survive and get into life.

For me, I REALLY enjoy using my skills/talents to help other people.