Direct mail imakes it way easier to target prospects or areas.

we can also have it (at or) near disneyland - plenty convention space there like where Brandon Turner recently did his due diligence prospecting for the socal market area!

My major concern obviously is that if I don't do all the repairs that i should make pre-occupancy that the unit will not show as well and perhaps result in a lower rental rate versus the prospect of having several thousand dollars of normally deductible expenses subsequently depreciated over 27.5 years.Thank you.

I think I'm a little unsure about the best way to show a unit to prospective tenants.

If it is a nice house in a nice area, do prospective tenants overlook ugly neighbors?

Two testers posing as prospective renters contacted the Gordons and brought up the subject of companion animals.

I've been crunching numbers and researching potential prospects the past 6mos or so.

I think this is important for your long term prospects for tenants as well as any appreciation.

Yellow letters + genuine engagement with prospective sellers works, but you have to do it.

Many different ways to perform income verifications, I have a post in this next thread that identifies a few:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/69795-prospective-tenant-income-verification-questionBut for self-employed, 2 years of tax returns is pretty much the way to go; have them make copies for you, and have them complete a 4506T from the IRS so that you can confirm that the figures on the copy agree with what the IRS received.Since they have a mortgage, I look for two things there whenever I really want to be thorough.