If you want to see the houses just to see them you can go on the weekends when they have an open house which is open to everyone. 

@Matt Michaelson, good ole' Christmas excuse! 

This weekend we signed a draft with tenant/buyer that we agreed to sell at $290,000, $20,000 down, 8.25%, 30 yrs amort, 5 yrs balloon.

That's a HUGE red flag, same with applicants who show up and 10 seconds later, even without looking around, start talking about how soon they'd like to move in (that weekend) and how great the apartment is.

- My story: This Christmas, we celebrated with one of our tenants, we bought the kids gifts and we have since formed an even better relationship.

For it to work and be attractive to an investor, I'd recommend these tips:- Keep rents close to market rateIf you're in a seller's market, try to restrict showings to serious investors - those who have financing lined up and are willing to make an offer subject to inspection- Provide tenant some flexibility for show times  - for example a time window for weekday and a weekend. . 

I have a tenant that owes me money, she finally got out, which is great, however she was about to be served the small claim docs after the labor day weekend  by sheriff, but now shes gone and i dont know her new location.

@Josh Feldman As usual the answer is...depend on your goals...if you want to leave your job or need extra income then you should go on cash-flow...otherwise you have more options of balancing the two...I am in a market in PA which have both and recently price just appreciated so much (=less cash flow)...making me get on the car and drive to Binghamton on a recent free weekend...I liked what I saw when I got there but unless you like driving...It is quite far from Long Island...I personally find my PA 2.5 hour drive quite tiring and wonder every drive back if there is a better option closer to NYC...that said I am still open minded about Binghamton and started to follow it more closely...did stumble on an article about over supply in the student housing there just after my return but my guess this is true in many student housing markets under the current economic conditions.Couple of thoughts about Student Housing from a distance (after a year in):1.

On nights, weekends, and layoffs, you would be able to work on your own house while being home with the family. 

We seem to be lacking in weekend meetups in my area.