You want tenants that are attentive to the property.Respond to emergencies immediately.Respond to everything else during business hours.Always respond and always thank them for notifying you of problems.As these conversations go on, the tenant will learn what is worthy of calling you on and what isn't.The alternative is when the tenant thinks you don't care and so they don't call.

This is by far the easiest alternative to rerouting electrical and submetering.

I have been approached by organizations asking if I would provide that as an alternate service.

Learn as much as you can about the property, and set your maximum bid price before you go.We've used auction.com as an alternative, but it is harder to get a deal that pencils these days.

Do not know the regular members.2) yes we do not want to be pitched another Guru investment technique or material.

If you have a lot of equity, there are a number of techniques you could pursue with conventional lenders.

I started using social media as an alternative to the more expensive online mediums and tools before it became known as social media.

These are useful and important to real estate agents and brokers, but they are not core skills needed to be a successful real estate investor.So, yes - a real estate license is nice to have; It can save you money on commissions, give you an alternative income stream (as an agent), and give you access to the MLS.

@Kris Fox you are in the position of strength when you use this technique. 

Good day Bigger Pockets Community,I have do have a current scenario I wish to receive feedback on please (see below).I'm brand new to the community and to real estate investing.I recently stumbled onto this website and have be drawn in as I'm looking for alternatives to working for someone else and the traditional work hard and save mentality.I recently (after hearing in many podcasts) listened to the Rich Dad Poor Dad audio book and was blown away.I now realize that there are other ways.My mind is busy with possibilities but in the short term I plan on learning as much ongoing, getting involved with either bird dogging and or wholesaling hopefully evolving to flipping and or buy and hold in the eventual future.I started to make some contacts with contractors and a possible hard money lender just thru casual conversations.It's exciting, but I know I have alot to learn.I own a home in San Jose, CA and wonder about leveraging the possibilities of the equity I've built.Here are some numbers.Owned for 15 years2Bedroom 1Bath with a 2nd story loft 1090sq ftI Owe $290k on 30yr mortage at 3.375%Owe a non-bank 2nd to my mom for $13.8k at 3.375%Estimates on Zillow $550k and Trulia $623kI was wonder about trying to time this market.Robert Kiyosaki and others talk about a nearing market crash.In hindsight (and we know what they say about that) I could have sold in 2007 for these current prices and entered back in 2009ish at a vast discount.I considered selling back then and now see the opportunity that was missed.Appreciate insights.