Here's my question:  I am an attorney and, by my nature and my profession, am pretty analytical. 

I have a pretty detailed application, so I'm hoping I can rank the applicants based on the application, and then verify information through a background check starting with the strongest.

It's a pretty decent area.

I'll be honest, I've had a pretty stressful time of it too lately.

I have also had a hell of a time getting some major work done on my Oakland house, so I am pretty wary of contractors and getting burned by shoddy work, and lengthy timelines and delays (I'd like to think I learned a thing or two, though!).

I'm open to flips, buy & hold, Foreclosure/REO/Short sale pretty much anything outside of section 8 if the numbers are right. 

At first I was saying no pets, but it turns out pretty much everyone has a dog so I'm trying to be flexible.

I've found that might be a little too much, but I'm not inclined to change it right now. 6% might be pretty much on target, but it does depend on the location (some areas simply have harsher conditions and also might be more expensive for repairs) and the age and condition of the property.

DC to Boston has flights every hour out of 3 different airports for pretty cheap, so I was able to get there fairly easily, but I didnt have to go there unexpectedly about twice a year to deal with crap.

Except it was pretty shabby and I had to put another $50K into it.