The property should be inspected for radon which is a radioactive gaseous element that occurs naturally, especially in areas over granite, and is considered hazardous to health.Bonus TermInspection Contingency- a clause stating that the buyer can cancel the contract with no penalties if the property needs major repairs.

Make it clear at every step that this is a No Smoking property...in ads, at showings, as a line item Notice on your application along with other critical elements such as "rented as shown, no additional cleaning, cosmetics, or repairs will be performed prior to move in without written agreement", and again within the Rental Agreement itself and any separate "House rules" that might be posted on the property or as addendum to the RA.

States that grew the most in last 10 years Population growth % growth Rank: 1) Texas 4.3 million 20.6% 2) California 3.3 million 10% 3) Florida 2.8 million 17.6% 4) Georgia 1.5 million 18.3% Good weather, strong industry & job growth, favorable property taxes, good schools makes an area to be attractive to raise a family and invest.

It also explains why contrary to appearances on BP, that Ohio ranks near last in investor owned single family units.  

It’s the perfect combination of high cash-flow with enormous equity upside.7.Jacksonville is a city with a strong economic past, present, and future, but don’t take our word for it.8.Take the word of all the major think tanks, experts, and organizations that have ranked Jacksonville as a top investment city in America.

Top 5 school districts are 1) Poway (there is no school district in the state that is bigger than Poway school district that ranks as high as Poway) 2) San Dieguito Union High, 3) Coronado, 4) San Marcos (I found this surprising), and 5) Carlsbad (as Paul indicated it has good schools).Before I looked it up I had not realized San Marcos school district ranked so high. 

SF growth appears to be rank 22 combined stats area nationwide.RankCombined.Statistical.Area2015 EstimateCumulative Change1Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples, FL1,059,28712.66%2Houston-The Woodlands, TX6,855,06912.11%3Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, FL3,129,30811.04%4Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC2,117,10310.68%5Denver-Aurora, CO3,418,87610.61%6Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK7,504,36210.08%7Nashville-Davidson?

As HUD states, you can require "reliable" sources, which could be within your local region (unless the applicant is new to the area), and explicitly reject "online" sources.You also can still have "reasonable" restrictions, such as requiring a recent Veterinarian report that proves the animal is in good health and well cared for and identifies the breed, weight and other identifying elements.

If one is starting out in a house (live first for a couple of years then sell or rent) that needs work (structural and dated elements), what do you recommend?

It's always nice to have another hard-core real estate fan join our ranks.