Their eyes light up when I tell them about my quarterly maintenance program and my offer to let them get testimonials from other tenants on their experience renting from us (I present myself and the property as being managed professionally by my company....rather than "me" as an individual).I also do not put a sign in the yard. 

hey everyone I'm curious to if there is a slow time to buy and or sell out of the year i have asked local investors in my area this question and i seem to get different answers from everyone some say that trying to sell/ get new tenants in the 4th quarter is hard and you will not get top dollar for your property or fill you units in a reasonable time ..but on the contrary  it is a good time to buy because  there are not many buyers...while others say the only time the market really slows down is right around the holidays of Christmas and new years just curious to what others think thanks for your input

Being the ignorant person that I am, I would merely jack the house up maybe a quarter of an inch at each pier location and then dig a hole maybe a foot deep and about 14" square then lower the pier back down and repeat.

If it's only one quarter of data, that doesn't tell us much about a trend.  

(i.e. an establishment autonotom, focused on 'theft' performance bonuses, perks, stock price, quarterly reports and undeserved, "golden parachutes!") 

Under our rates view, many Canadian mortgage borrowers may be forced in the coming years to refinance their loans at higher mortgage rates.Here's Goldman Sach's analysis:The recent rapid rise in house prices in Canada presents a risk of eventual over-heating.A model of bust risk that accounts for house price-to-rent ratios, past changes in real house prices, investment-to-GDP ratios, real GDP growth and inflation puts the probability of a 5% or larger downturn in real house prices over the next 5-8 quarters at around 30%.

The most important thing is have an exit strategy.I have done some of these, My last one was structured this way.  1st - all management, rental etc was on me.2nd- I provided the investor. a quarterly report 30 days after the quarter ended.I received 10% of rents received for management. 

If you don't have one already, you can get a Self Directed IRA (SDIRA) and even invest in REI from within that account, so that may be an option to look into if you need to shelter some income from taxation but want to put it into real estate.

Do you mean partnership for taxation purposes or just that he would be your "partner" in the business as opposed to just a lender? 

Once that is paid off, then look at the money you have an where you can put it to make the most positive difference and improve your financial situation.Also, I recommend building and maintaining a net work spreadsheet and checking in with it quarterly.