I collect apps and fees, then grade them based on a number of factors- rental history, income, credit score, reason for leaving their last place, reason they want this apartment/area (close to school, work etc), whether or not they smoke, if they have a helicopter parent (I rent to a lot of students), how long them plan to stay in the area/apartment, when they need to move in. 

Deals less than $500k generally suffer from a whole host of problems:-They're constructed with joint ventures where some (generally many) of the project's participants are passive investors.  

I have not visited the 1000 W site, but the location is not the best in terms of traffic to downtown.I was surprise at where is was compared to what the brochure words indicated.I have invested in the Student housing offerings of Nelson Brothers.Have you been on one of Leslie's tours?

I do understand that these strategies span the gamut of totally active to totally passive participation.

They are old and not appealing to the caliber of tenant that I am targeting, mainly college students. 

Obviously, I have a great deal of knowledge about our systems, curriculum, and business processes because I helped create them over the past 14+ years.I can also introduce you to numerous students of ours in Los Angeles who have been through our coaching program and are successful investing there locally.I know they will give you a lot of insight into the program and our events.

She also participated in the bidding process so that I could get the deal before open house, and thus risk paying more due to multiple offers or losing out to a higher bidder.  

This program is set up to obviously disincentivize landlords from participating.  

I've heard it's a bear and the sellers may not want to participate without strong incentives. 

There are 50,0000+ students that go to school there and housing demand is intense in the area.