@Sean AutryI've also seen a 120 lb German Shepherd mix do irreparable damage to 3/4 in. oak hardwood, too, but for my money, if you allow pets in your rentals, as we do, nothing beats semigloss oil-polyurethaned solid oak and ceramic tile for longevity, absolutely nothing by a long shot.I realize this is zero consolation for you at the moment, but I thought I'd contribute it here for others thinking about have pets in rentals.

Oh I loved my time in corporate IT!

Certainly will incorporate this in due diligence. 

@Rory Samuels how do you plan to incorporate other peoples money if your getting a mortgage?

-based  incorporated entity which would mean paying business taxes in the U.S.A., but would give you the freedom to repatriate earnings at a time of your choosing.  

Drive around different neighborhoods you desire to find properties and incorporate your direct mailing this way.

If fees are too low, I would suggest keeping them the same for at least one to two years, then slowly incorporate increases.If you pay cash, make sure that you have some sort of clawback ($$) for a certain amount of time if accounts leave in XXXX days.Will the owner stay a certain amount of time to help in the transition?

I personally find sec 8 a difficult program to incorporate within what I want to do as a landlord and am not interested in the program, you can either choose to or not to.. you can search many posts here on BP about sec 8 .

For bathroom, ceramic tile is the best choice and the most longevity, next choice is vinyl. 

Put together a well purchased transaction and cash buyers will crawl out of the woodwork like cockroaches in a dirty rental house.As I like to tell newbies trying to figure out how to incorporate when they barely have any reason to even file a 1040EZ form, no need to learn about asset protection if you don't have any assets.