but having set criteria will keep the ship afloat regardless of temporary hiccups. my hypothesis: Real estate will continue to go up in value in short term as well as the long term. there may be waves but that's why you built the strong ship to withstand them till the oceans are smooth again. 

What are some creative/strong ways to be competitive with offers in current seller’s market?

I loved her book Strong Father Strong Daughter.

But most likely, the market is extremely strong, and if this is a good area that people want to live in, then it will likely sell to a retail buyer who simply wants to get into the neighborhood and have another tenant offset his costs, but ultimately is not looking at it as an investment.

@Fili Aguirre No one applicant is perfect, one has to give points to a strong rental history, with the mid-range credit score with a middling LL recommendation, against the applicant with low credit score (bad decisions a few years ago) but who now has a solid employer but who's missed a car payment.

I was given the advice many years ago when I got into rentals to just hang tight and see what happens....fast forward 10yrs and they are still kicking strong.....my 2 cents

In this market, just know that a lot of sellers don't like to accept FHA offers, so your offer won't necessarily be as strong as a conventional or cash offer.

I had to give up 40% of the profits but I got the first one done. 7 years in the business still going strong!

I hear Rockford is a strong market, I am from Elgin but live down in Chicago.It'd be cool if you kept a BP post of your journey as a hotel operator. 

I'm strongly considering taking one of my pre-foreclosure letters and customizing it for HOA delinquency and sending that.