Hang in there and try the snowball approach.

And the larger firm had an approach to filling vacancies that I wasn't sure would work well (they require credit checks before showing prospective tenants ANY property) but it turned out OK.

I approached a seller about using a lease option to purchase his house.

My two cents are as follows...we were tasked by Progress Residential to source and acquire homes for their portfolio in Atlanta but initially they did not want us to manage their homes for the reason mentioned...potential conflict of interest...after about 6 months using other managers with poor results, they came to us and asked us to manage given the fact that they were so pleased with the way we professionally approached the acquisition process. 

@Kevin Keith BeckI agree that many investors have an unhealthy approach to dealing with GC's.

Cap rate (i.e. income approach valuation) is irrelevant in valuing this class of properties.

Like you, I'm a newbie and have found this site incredibly helpful.

Does your team specialize in the student area or have a marketing approach to that area (SU, SUNY, Crouse)?

A lot of “ investors” approach stocks like day traders.

My current tenants which were inherited when I bought the property are moving next month..So now the real challenge of being a first time landlord is approaching, and my biggest concerns with screening are:Evictions and Criminal Background - How do you check for this?