For example, when most of my development clients started building their portfolios, they picked up properties in areas where at least 1 of 3 things was almost always present: 1) They currently or have previously lived in the area, 2) they have family or friends that attend religious services in the area, or 3) they regularly visit family or friends that live in the area.

She will never be happy with the heat, she can barely afford the place, and she's regularly late with rent.

A little late to the gratitude fest, but like @Kerry Baird above, I am genuinely grateful for the old timers here and the new voices as the collective wisdom of this group is something I tap into regularly.

It’s quick, clean, and you can reinvest that cash into another deal.

Vrbo has free price automation software.I use Excel for book keeping.I don't pay for any third party software, not really needed on 1 or 2 properties.I charge a little extra for cleaning fee than actual cleaning costs.

I buy for 80k with a private lender at 8%, maybe clean it up a little or maybe not.

Was able to purchase and clean up, but probably would have avoided the property entirely to avoid the headache and extra expenses.

You can have some student housing, regular long-term rentals, and even some STRs if you choose.

@Kristin Boekhoff to add to the great input from @Jason Taken:1) To save money, you really want to clean as little as possible.

Borrower Types: The Professional - HM Lender will cut sweet-heart deals to keep these borrowers around Experienced real estate investors Regularly engage in property transactions Typically have a track record of successful projects The Newbie - Charge Higher everything as the risk is higher as no experience Novice investors or first-time borrowers Limited experience in real estate Seeking to build their investment portfolio The Deadbeat - Only lend if the deal is so SWEET, they can't lose if they take the property from the Borrower Borrowers with poor credit history or financial difficulties High-risk borrowers May struggle to secure traditional financingThe lender will do an application on the deal/borrower and some standard docs they require are:Hard Money Application / ExperiencePurchase contractARV report – COMPS – See * Redfin*Pictures of Property – most people use Dropbox to shareProof of Funds – Down / Reserves (Bank Statements)Personal identification (ID or passport)But usually if the deal is sweet enough, they will do it anyway because if the deal goes south, there is so much equity/value in the property that the HM lender can't lose.