If that were not the case, I would not have taken that gamble.2) Tenant moving from out-of-state and didn't have a job in NOLA yet, but did have longevity in his employment history. 

Depending on what's your preffered platform/required features I would suggest you to try out LandlordMAX for desktop, Landlordy or Housters as mobile apps and Pendo or TrueRent on the web.

I would not compromise my screening standards but if you decide to take the gamble do not offer a term lease.

Right now, I work for myself as a web developer, but would love to "retire" to short term rentals or something passive like that some day.

you should evaluate each deal individually, unless they are being sold as a package of some sort or it gives you some other advantage.you can use the 15k deal as leverage perhaps to lower the price on the second house. if you are not cashflowing at 150k-160k dont buy it, unless you wanna gamble on appreciation. also, by owning three homes next to each other you are increasing risk because all your eggs are in one basket.

I wish I knew to study this web site and the landlord tenant laws before I started.Learning this business on the fly is a recipe for disaster.

If it covers much of the costs be thankful, if it produces a profit as well you gambled and hit the jack pot.

Hi Nitin, You can absolutely set up an LLC yourself on the state of tn web site.  

Best free education on the web.

You're ALWAYS going to have the same problem whenever your mortgage payments are similar to what rent would be, because of all the EXTRA expenses that any property has.Just to remind you, if you rely on future appreciation, you're gambling.