That said, it could be a good choice if you’re capital constrained and need to recycle equity from deal to deal.However, if you have capital to deploy and want to take a more hands-off approach, targeting a turnkey, rent-ready offering could be a better approach for your first deal.Full disclosure: I own rentals and operate a turnkey provider in Tuscaloosa—let me know if there are any questions I can answer for you!

I assume it would be easier to offer student housing before the spring semester, but I don't think I'm ready for that.

They will probably stick to that for a short period and then go delinquent again, but it's much easier to deal with if they violate a payment plan in most cases and at least you get some of your money back.They might be a professional tenant.

Write targeted letters yourself saying you own and live in a multi in the area and are looking to expand.

You may be able to bypass some of those hurtles based on your country of origin/where you have friends and family but in most cases investing in the U.S. will be way easier and will yield a better ROI. 

Mail campaigns targeting older neighborhoodsConnect with actual Austinites: This has been incredibly useful for me.

My mother alway said you can’t teach stupid, but what the heck, I’ll give it one more tryI’ll use an example with dollars, to make it easier to follow.  

Im sure it would make life a lot easier for us and for her but it sounds like a lot of expense to get there. 

It is a lot easier IMO this way than chasing people for your fee. 

Once those drop back down into the 5's cash flow should get a little easier.