In my opinion, the challenge (at least for a conservative investor like myself) is wading through the "junk" to find the few pearls: high quality sponsors and deals.But before jumping into deals and sponsors, I would recommend taking a step back.

Also, what steps should I be taking to thoroughly vet potential tenants?

@Brian LeungFor a fourplex in LA/OC - you should in the 6.5-8% of monthly rent range.As a next step, I would suggest asking these companies for referrals to existing clients.

The simple concept is talked about a number of times on BP Podcasts and in their books...what’s your most important next step (MINS)?

How you found it and the steps you took all the way to then end?

That leaves you with a very small tenant pool.To take a step back, why are you planning to sell and move to a more expensive house?

Musk kinda threw that idea out there (not the first to do so, but the first to get a lot of attention with it) and stepped away from it

For example last month i was charged $250 to put salt on the steps and sidewalks. 

That's the first step, am I buying a property at market value and not overpaying?  

I’ve been looking to get in to real estate for a while now and I am finally ready to take that step.