Sent out repairman (need it checked for Spring anyway, as well as new filters).

For small jobs I send a handyman out to the property about every 6 months to look around, check drains, change HVAC filters, etc. and email the tenant a few days before notifying them and seeing if there are any maintenance requests.

You can read alot of books and listen to a bankers opinion all day but what help are they going to be when you enter a unit for a filter change and smoke alarm battery check and you discover things like tenant has moved in a roommate, are those bedbugs on the wall, why is there a pet tiger in the bedroom...etc...You will need a voice to call to say what in the hell do I do?

Filter through my applications, call my favorite most qualified tenant, and give them a call - Sit down and sign the lease.4.)

It's key to NEVER have bias in such a thing, and to have a system in place to do the filtering work.

A self-assessment is going to immediately filter paths to success.  

I even created a questionnaire that filters people out if they don’t meet the requirements before they can even schedule an appointment.  

While I appreciate what agents and attorneys do, sometimes I feel like you have to go outside them to get the non-filtered information you need.

When I'm trying to understand a statute or legal concept I go to the web site Leagle, its free and the Advanced Search tab allows you to search by a word, phrase or party name and filter by state or federal decision.

I perform periodic inspections(2-3 per year), as well as performing basic maintenance(suck out dryer vents, change out leaky faucets, replace air filters), which gives me good insight as to how the property is being cared for.