The retiree's reputation gives you credibility.

A credible plan is something like another designated person will handle bill payment.  

^ the credibility that a 1 post BP member has on a Guru criticism thread.....0.

I do have to say I bought another property same time and they both went on the market within a week from each other and the PM signed a lease in 3 weeks to an excellent tenant who moved in on the first of Jan.  

Download some of the very good analysis Excel files on the BP file site, and tweak the file to your needs as you learn more and more about your market, about investing in general, and what excites you in terms of return on investment.

I've been buying tax liens for some time now (off and on, now I'm Very On) and have used Excel up to this point. 

@Taylor Coleman   I have 2 excellent contractors that I work with.

I think it asserts a certain confidence in the buyers credibility and willingness to buy.

There are great excel files in the form section to help analyze deals.  

Best,JTPS (*) Just read the excellent book “The Millionaire Real Estate Investor” by Gary Keller, who recommends this approach to build your success network (p. 166).