We require potential tenants to have a DL and credit card on file - just incase there is damage to the house.  

What Nathan said, or you can install cameras without wifi that write footage to an SD card, which you can retrieve and watch if there is a need.I'm not sure what your intent is in installing the cameras?  

I’ve heard of people handing out their business cards and going from there.People calling around and seeing if the owner wants to sell (we did this twice and they were dead ends).What do we do after the owner says they do want to sell, what would my next steps be?

Our cameras use a prepaid sim card from Tmobile.

To me, the institutional investors are the wild card. 

However, if they're large, the likelihood they will break in removal or transport is pretty high.

At least pay down high interest and credit card debt. 

When I got let go from that low paying dead end job at the hazardous polyurethane plant, I went back to school for Supply Chain Management/Logistics Management (transportation).

You need to order yourself some business cards that say "investor" on them and start calling yourself an investor even before you have a property.

Anyway they store data on an SD card that you have to check manually, but it is inexpensive, battery operated, and easy to hide.