This is the question that is at the heart of the mess that lenders and realtors and mortgage brokers and appraisers have collectively created.

Real estate agent groups track that data very carefully.

In some states, it is against the law to collect more than a couple month's rent, so you have to check into that.I automatically turn down any applicant who wants to pay a year in advance.For an existing tenant who has been a good tenant, I would take the money, put it into escrow and pay myself month by month as it came due.Tentant would still be on a month to month agreement and if I wanted him out, I'd give 30 day notice and refund the balance of the rent.An exception: If I rented to college students, they sometimes pay the entire semester's rent out of their grant money.

Will I be in line to collect something in bankrupcy?

I think if really add up all the expenses, and be sure to count the rent you didn't collect when they were vacant or you were trying to get the evictions done, you'll find you're somewhere like 40-50%.

Most of these inexpensive islands in the Caribbean don't have their own fresh water on the island so owners have to boat in bottled water, or in certain areas they also set up rain systems that collect and store rain water.

This is a new federal law that you can get your report from each agency once per year at no cost to you.The process should take about an hour or so as you have to keep re-entering the same data for each agency.If you are married do separate reports, not joint.

But some investors have given this a bad name by just accepting anyone and collecting option fees over and over again.

I'd recommend prorating and collecting the next month's rent on the 1st.

I'm a collecter and have owned/bought/sold about 25 different handguns over the years.