We have two small children so it's hard for both my husband and I to get away but we'd like to go to a REIA/ business conference in 2019.

I'd recommend the following:-Send a text to all 5 of the tenants on one text chain and try and set up a conference call.

He will be spending all his money and time on criminal defense.

This space is a place where I wouldn't start, but good luck to you if you do... and get a good lawyer well versed as an established real estate defense attorney.

As long as it's utilized correctly, under leveraged, and viable from a financially defensive position, you can create tremendous growth - faster than you otherwise would have. 

This lets you separate debt and cash which is a great defensive strategy.

Thomas can you cite a single instance where this has been a valid tenant defense in court?

I get your point on the rent part but in my defense, they are saving a ton of money by renting from me.

You want to be defensive so you're never in a position where you are losing money and are forced to sell for a loss.

But two things always demand attention - the desire and need to move from active to passive attention, and the need to move defensively in late markets and late investing careers.Defensive investing is a way of separating your cash from debt in a mature market to mitigate the impact of any kind of correction.