I tell people to avoid most unlicensed brokers because they aren't accountable and have no government oversight.

I've got no money for marketing, so I'm D4D in my spare time and researching owners online.

I was speaking with an investor with about 25 years experience with Class C rentals and he said he usually uses 15-20% of monthly rent to account for maintenance and capital expenditures combined.  

I was previously on BP but (long story short) got a new phone and email got hacked and I had to start my account over again. 

Feel free to chat with me anytime on my account.  

I look at it like this, a real estate agent gets paid to be a real estate agent, a contractor gets paid to be a contractor, and my accountant, lawyer, etc all get paid to do their job.  

Try the court records, should by online by this day and age, and search case numbers sequentially.

I set up my LLC using a lawyer and also a living trust.If you decide to to do an LLC, your renters can write you a check to your LLC as long as you have a business checking account in your LLC name.

Get very familiar with the laws which are readily aviallable on line.  

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good accountant in the Contra Costa county of California (San Francisco East Bay area - e.g., Walnut Creek, Concord, Martinez, Lafayette areas).