I plan on moving in about 3 to 4 yrs, and I want to keep my home and rent it out.

I had one tenant who was an old Nam vet who had MAJOR anger issues and HAD-TO-GO...he is one of two units I've actually paid to leave in 4 yrs and he's the highest ($300 to leave a $400/mo apt).

I've been a birddog for yrs finding properties for investors and agents and if I find you a good property then yes I need to be paid for my work. 

Offer a discount of half off on next to the last months rent if they pay on time every time, (you should of already collected first last and security) and you can do a walk thru of house and yard ( this gives a powerful incentive for them to be good renters and make the landlord experience more enjoyable)Put vinyl flooring in as it is waterproof, ( unless you really like tile, then do the same type of tile in all rentals and always keep a spare box on hand.Paint all rentals the same color, so you always know what paint color to use.If water heater is more than 2 yrs old then just go ahead and replace with a new one, sell the old one on Craigslist and you don't get the 2 am call that water heater is floodingAfter rent is collected in dec, then hand them a card with 50.00 inside(if they have been great tenants)And I would have to say one of the best landlord hacks I know is to really care about the tenants and treat them with respect, and you will be much more likely to receive it back

I'm only 5 yrs into my RE investment so I will be following this thread to see how others have done.

I'm new to BP and found your old post from 2 yrs ago, I'm living in Aurora and been investing in the Aurora/Naperville border along Eola rd, my initial plan was stick to good school, district 204, all my properties (townhomes) have done well for me since 2014, good tenants, never had any issues with tenants, property appreciations also pretty well. 

(for some reason, Harvard and news outlets cant make up their mind if my age bracket falls into generation Y or the millennial, im 30 yrs old)But I have some additional reasons as why I didn't and still haven't made the leap to home and investment ownership. 

After the first few successes, he was on board ( we started buying rentals at 23 yrs old). 

And this ultimately hurting the end customer.I closed an FHA purchase last Friday and here are the stats:Short sale 4.1 yrs agoNot a US citizen and here on a work permitFHA loan that I closed in 22 days including weekends.I can't stress enought that you need a loan officer that will structure your deals correct the first time. 

My tenant has been in there for 5 yrs with no rent increase.