•Tenants demand prompt, high-quality service and without caring about cost •Vendors seek to earn as much compensation for their work as possible.Balancing these needs requires thoughtful stewardship, strong communication, and a commitment to fairness.

@Adam OrtizRecommend 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?

Fifth, you’ll get better screening the next time you have a fancy.

Then an appraisal works to my benefit and the quality of the property would be very close (as I said the property I purchased had relatively cosmetic renovations such as painted cabinets).

Always buy the best quality property you can afford.

The right idea is going to be the bread and butter.1) Ideal location2) Quality properties over quantity of properties3) 1.25x DSCR4) Intention to hold no less than 8, but ideally 12+ years.5) Sufficient cap reserves6) Mechanisms to enhance cash flow(via alt investing or house strategies).7) Liability protection through no PG loans(if possible), LLC formation, property management and being a diligent landlord.8) Invest deeper, before wider.Now if you're talking where to invest, different information.

Quote from @Levi Perl: The purpose of background screening is to determine a level of risk, and then you decide if you can mitigate that risk.How does a DUI conviction from three years ago impact the tenant's ability to pay rent or maintain the property?

If you already do this, than like me, it is a lot of screening properties (40-65 per month at about 3-4 offers from that) and patience.Watch the ARVs right now as a lot of us are in a declining market--do not rely on anyone else but yourself to really provide the ARV. 

@Jacques CaspiTo succeed in real estate investing, I’ve found it’s crucial to budget for unexpected expenses, focus on thorough tenant screening, and build strong relationships with contractors.

That's not exactly an up and coming area -- I'd research who built them - can likely find that by going to the SG County Recorded Docs site or by seeing who pulled the permits during const -- Wichita has been on a duplex building boom -- look at the tax value -- They probably have that or less in it on the build - I also doubt they were built to be quality long term -- things such as the trim/cabinets etc -- they all look like the cheapest stuff a guy could buy - if the cabinets aren't oak and there is MDF or pine trim and pre-hung doors with engineered wood jams I'd run.  2-3 yrs ago for $180k -205 or so you could buy duplexes in Maize, Kechi, Valley center all day to builders that were selling them off to investors - not worth that in that area.