I have a friend that secured a deal on a property in La Jolla with none of his own money because he listened to the owner -- I kick myself to this day because I had talked to the same owner numerous times about other things but I didn't listen to him like my friend did so I missed the opportunity.I had kind of tuned out the opportunity because the property is in a really expensive part of La Jolla and I didn't think I could secure a deal on a $5M house when I was just starting out.But my friend -- who had no more experience than I did -- and the developer he worked with -- and who paid for everything -- made $7M each off that deal because the house ended up selling for $28M.Anyhow, my point is that while you should keep doing what you're doing because there are deals everywhere and you don't need to live near by, don't ignore your own backyard because you probably know it much better than any other area.

Lenders are going to look at your income, your assets, your debts, your credit history, the stability of your income, the amount you are looking to borrow, and the property to be secured with a mortgage.

The unique ability to offer higher returns to our investors, in addition to helping provide a safe, secure home and care to those that need it most.

The unique ability to offer higher returns to our investors, in addition to helping provide a safe, secure home and care to those that need it most.

Finding a property management company that you can trust with your investment can be a weight off of your shoulders and provide "mailbox" money to you without you having to lift a finger (except for when you have to grab that money from the mailbox).The cost of property management services varies, but any great trustworthy property management company can outweigh the cost substantially by providing you with time-saving services that handle the day-to-day operations of owning a rental investment property.

They provide a means for mortgages to be sold on the secondary market as mortgage backed securities. 

Was the money for the electric bills withheld from the security deposit or just billed to her monthly?

As part of my investment portfolio as well as to secure properties for our tear-down/ rebuild business I personally purchase (with my own funds) existing homes in the downtown area of the suburbs we build in with the intention to rent them out over several years and then eventually sell the property to the business to demolish the old homes and tear down/rebuild.

I have a tenant with a $425 security deposit that now pays $775.

Lease agreement states security deposit would be used as an unpaid rent if there was early termination.Tenant decides to end lease early making final payment August 1st and moving out the 3rd, I find a tenant September 1st but at a rent payment of $700 instead of $850  Does this tenant have the ability to get his security deposit refunded if it took a month to find a new tenant after he had left?