Talk to those turnkey companies about the market and you'll not only learn valuable information about the market, you'll quickly get a sense for which turnkey companies have a real command of the market and which ones are simply trying to make a quick buck. 

Simply Safe systems are great to use so long as you keep the electricity on.Otherwise, if you have boots-on-the-grounds, PM, Realtor, etc. that can pop by regularly to check locks and show that the property is being checked on.You can install live, or dummy cameras, on the exterior of the property as a deterrent as well.Best of luck to you!!

@Julian Munoz simply network with investors on BiggerPockets or other real estate platforms and determine what has been working for them in their market.

I am under the impression that my best bet would be to try and find something off market and simply go birddog and distribute letters to the property owners whose property that I feel would best fit my criteria.

The question that your accountant is going to have to be comfortable with is - "Are you tearing down and building simply so you can sell?" 

This simply means that the person who is borrowing uses the physical property as security in exchange for financing.

If it is just a very choppy (rusty) inside of the pipe, it may well be possible to simply descale (hundreds to maybe a couple of thousand dollars, depending on length of the run).  

If they are simply throwing rates out at you without giving the "fine print", I would dig a little deeper and find out what all the closing costs are.

If I was your agent I would tell you to write a lowball offer on some of these that have been sitting out there and see what shakes out,,,,,,make sure there's an appraisal and inspection contingency in your offer......If your offer gets accepted and you ultimately purchase the place then you only have to live there for a year....then simply move out and put a renter in the side of the duplex you were living in.....at that point your biggest problem will be finding another place to live.

Typically, holdover is simply another way of saying month to month.