The conclusion I'm drawing, is that similar to mutual funds, we are relying on the underwriting skills of the particular platform to do a lot of the DD for the investor.

They didn't arrive at the conclusion that they wanted to invest in real estate because they had an abundance of extra cash and nothing to do with it; rather, they went the route of the 9-5, 5 days a week, work until retirement (when and if that ever comes), and then came to the realization that they had to do something different.

In 2013, I finally came to the conclusion that I needed to cut my losses.After speaking to my realtor and CPA, I sold the rental in a short sale.

CONCLUSION !

I think 500 dollars is a good number to market with every month, but ultimately I came to the conclusion that we live in a time where you can tell people exactly what you want or expect so that way your dont waste either parties time. 

Anyone in Houston that can guide me to a conclusion?

Landlord-tenant laws vary widely from state-to-state so only a local attorney could advise you conclusively. 

We've got another situation ongoing where we actually had a first position lien, sued for damages, were awarded a FIFA lien against the owner, foreclosed, owner declared bankruptcy, and we're still going after it... almost 3 years of litigation and 5 figures in lawyer fees to get paid from one job.So, in conclusion... perform->pay doesn't hold much interest for me.

Here's some further reading on the subject.http://www.lonestarlandlaw.com/Lease_pur.htmlI find the following conclusion from the very website you mentioned very much to the point:" Residential lease-purchases for longer than 180 days are no longer a feasible strategy for investors because of the multitude of requirements and the potential liability for doing them improperly.

We've sort of come to the conclusion that we don't necessarily want to open an LLC right now due to the fact we can't use a VA loan under an LLC.