I even write my own very effective 3 page hand written yellow letters...and have done a few for a couple other wholesalers :) I have to say I love everything about REI and writing my own ebooks about topics pertaining to real estate...

My first eviction was in a different property in Indiana, not Houston almost 2 years ago.Tenant selection is not easy when using a property manager who controls the applications.  

I will always select the most highly qualified tenant that meets my written screening criteria.

There will be deals in Alberta, but likely not until owners are feeling the full effect of the drop in oil on the local economies.

Charging just the banks a negative rate could have the desired effect of stimulating banks to loan money if the economy is really struggling.

Their appraisal will, of necessity, contain a selection of properties in your area in degrees of repair from poor to great.

One thought is that I relook at their income (because that is what is mainly going to be affected) and meanwhile look at all the new applicants in the same pool and see who may be a better fit now that there are more applicants in the mix and base my new selection on the best fit applicant.The remaining two are aware that I have been showing the place and screening through new applicants at this time.  

Sites like Zillow and RentOMeter say that my ask of $1400 for rent is near the top of the market for the area, but still reasonable for a unit of this size - and that is even without the basement.So does the basement effectively get thrown in for free?

I have been building capital to the point that I think I'm ready to start investing and could use a bit of guidance on how to either take advantage of this hot market or how to effectively invest in neighboring, more reasonable ones.

The current owner is shopping it around for 1.35m (7cap) and the proforma numbers are as followed: ANNUALIZED INCOMEActual MarketGross Potential Rent $191,639 Less: Vacancy ($5,749) Effective Gross Income $185,890 Less: Expenses ($91,497) Net Operating Income $94,393 Debt Service ($65,592) Net Cash Flow after Debt Service $28,801 Principal Reduction $17,403Total Return $46,204 ANNUALIZED EXPENSESActual MarketProperty Management Fee $9,582 Replacement Reserves $5,250 Building Insurance $6,712 Maintenance $12,560 Taxes - Real Estate $36,296 (37220 w/o exception)Utility - Electricity $2,453 Utility - Gas $12,369Utility - Water/Sewer $6,275 Total Expenses $91,497 Expenses Per RSF $8.39 Expenses Per Unit $4,357I did some additional digging and found that they offer Wi-Fi for the building (I talked to a rep and said providing service for a building that size should run 285 a month) and the trash was left off which runs about 285/month.