I have experienced this issue in the social media / wholesaling fourms.

There are a bunch that come up when I do a Google search, but I don't want them to get scammed into giving away their (and our) social security numbers and other info.

In fact some part timers are so unmotivated they maintain agent status primarily for maintaining their social circle.

My preference is to have the tenants pay their own heat, especially if there are already separate utilities and/or furnaces.Another down side locally is if you rent to Dept. of Social Services tenants, the formula they use to calculate rent gets thrown off if heat is included in the rent.

Social Security numbers and credit checks are not needed until after a showing and the applicant decides they would like to continue with the application process.

Any niche depends on your market, learn the market, understand what can be done, then learn to adapt strategies that solve the problem.All real estate sales is about solving a problem, it might be the turning of inventory of a 5 billion dollar portfolio for liquidity or it could be selling some little old ladies home with her moving to a nursing home.Most all the investor residential deals will be about solving some problem, real estate is a very social business, it's not like Ford moving units off an assembly line out to dealers, it's an in your face, personal problem solving transaction every time, an individual seller always has a goal and a problem getting there. 

I am most certainly not immune to these, however I consider things that involve finances to be a rational endeavor, and so my autopilot social responses would not affect the bottom line of a business negotiation.

social media?  

I like a single lease all tenants, co-signing and feel screening them via social media is probably your best defense against bad tenants.

The political/social climate is ridiculous today.