In this case, since they are already in the property, you probably have a fair understanding of how they keep the house and what their payment history is. 

Don't get into the whole story when you call these places just tell them you're a new homeowner, the last owner didn't keep good records and you're putting together a binder of service records for the home so you can get ahead on maintenance.

Keep in mind that rates are higher than they were 4 years ago.

However, my choice of properties keep coming up in the red, not sure how to get around this but I'll keep plugging away at it.

I've been too busy rehabbing my 3 unit apartment building to really focus on anything else.But nonetheless, I have been keeping up with my less-than-professional deal pipeline.My first question regarding this involves raising capital to invest in deals.

Duplex is a great first step into the REI market if you can buy one that you can put in a little TLC/renovations, you can quickly refinance in as little as 6 months and buy another property keeping it as a rental.Duplex allows you to use the other "Unit" rents to qualify for the loan or higher loan amount.Rent is a waste of money when you look at an amortization schedule and payoff based on a 5 year model your rental has (ZERO) equity and a home has money you can pull out.

A reserve is unnecessary, but I still keep around $15,000 - $20,000 in my account.The point is, that you should sit down and assess your finances to determine what the worst-case scenario may look like, how much you would need to cover it without impacting your life, and whether you will need to build a reserve.

My question is whether it makes sense to keep the capital in the deal banking on it performing better long term and the retention of 5 percent of the deal after the waterfall as a long term asset, or if it makes sense to take the capital back and put it into my own deals (my partners and I are currently working on buying a hotel and I could use the capital to get myself equity and to help us close the deal).

Keep rent escrowed2.

I know I will find answers if I keep reading and exploring, but I have a potential deal going right now, so I need the answers sooner rather than later.1.