It's extremely time consuming and I'm wondering if there are better tools to help automate the process?

You ensure they know by driving the point home.Yes, that process is time consuming, but would you rather vet 10 applications, denying 9 of them because those 9 people didn't bother reading anything other than the rental price?

We bring in about 12k/month after taxes and will have all of our consumer debt paid off in July.

"Deals" may start to pop up here and there as consumer confidence rides the recovery wave, but the timing just isn't right (in my opinion). 

One deal like that one could consume you and leave you with a whole lot of nothing. 

I would also strongly recommend consuming as much of the BP podcast as you can.  

Sometimes those vacancies consume the profit you made on the short term rental.As to making the choice based upon the market, it's tough to say.

Even if you aren't doing rehab work, learning the "lay of the land" will enhance your knowledge and understanding in such a way that you can take that knowledge anywhere with you.I wish you the best of luck in whatever decision you make, and remember: This is your future.

While Account Closed is correct, many of the job losses are in service based industries, they provide a nice chunk of consumer demand...meaning if they don't spend, executive job cuts would hit as well.

Pay off all high-interest consumer debt.3.