As for other companies jump around this site & you'll see a ton of other major players.

The principles went to a conference where Sam Zell was speaking in 1993 or 94, and Sam's entire speech was about the consolidation of the industry and how the small players were getting eaten up because they didn't have the access to the deals or capital. 

Be careful on the C/D class "cash flow hamster wheel" where you turn over the units every 6 months due to evictions, and have them sit vacant for a while waiting for good tenants, and have to keep fixing them up to attract decent tenants.

Account ClosedWelcom to BP.All good ideas above here.Another one is speaking with some of your local title companies and asking them who the big players are in your location or if they can point you in the right direction.

any good ones on cd?

If I can get over 5% on a safe CD, what sort of return do I need to justify the effort of residential RE?

Best to go to local REIA events and other real estate events to meet with the real players in the space. 

I usually use online sources to find potential flips and have also seen some "renovated" or "renovations started" homes for <$40k and multi-units for <$50k in C, D neighborhoods.

2) I've also seen complaints by at least one poster about Holton Wise not being able to fill a vacancy for 7+ month, though from what I gathered during that forum argument this was possibly due to the building being located in a C-/D class neighborhood.

It was also comparatively pricey with a $200/month minimum obligation.BuildiumBuildium is a web-first platform started in 2002 and has grown into a global, PE-backed player.