Over the next week I was visited on 3 separate occasions by families who paid someone on Craigslist $100 for an application and were here to see the house or actually two of them thought they could move in that day! 

It's not 100% accurate because one person might have a smartphone and one or two tablets, but it's one more data point that helps me keep tabs on my owners' properties.Hope that helps!

My friend wants to include me in on this so we can both achieve financial freedom together.The plan currently is to take out a personal loan together for the $20,000, put in $5,000-10,000 worth of work into the property to make it livable as soon as possible, move into the property ourselves so we don't have to pay rent anymore, and then refinance as soon as possible.

Not about what is or is not acceptable it is about whether I am going to get paid.

My wife (girlfriend at the time) paid me 1500 in rent every month to live there (with me).

Personally I look to find something that will exceed my returns in the stock market (10% cash on cash).

However, for personal reasons the tenant is no longer interested in remaining in this rental and wants to be "bought-out" of their "ownership".First and foremost, a verbal agreement just isn't going to cut it and getting a signed legal contract is the first step.

I paid 160K cash for that one, spent about 30k again and have it rented for $1,895/mo. 

A good PM can turn a mediocre investment into a solid return; a bad PM can ruin a good investment.A good PM can also help you narrow in on the best neighborhoods, cross-check what your REALTOR tells you, and line you up with solid contractors.I'm biased, but I don't think there's a more important person to have on your team.

The best part, they only get paid if I am collecting rent.