I stopped short of calling him an idiot - cause I'm polite like that.Short story - some people hate bandit signs with a vengeance and you'll be lucky to get a couple of hours out of them before they are completely destroyed or removed.

James,Don't stop with the direct mail, make sure you are consistent with it.

Welcome to @Hubert Washington,    Wish you all the best in your RE ventures. 

The direct approach (asking) demonstrates your ethics and as the variations are typically "fill-in-the-blanks", I would venture you would get the consent.

After the second time we spent $500 on a Simplisafe system and theft stopped.

I've met some folks along the way who are making it work and it can most definitely be a successful venture. 

Did we learn anything, yes but alot of half-truths too.Came home and created a Nevada S-Corp and put an LLC under it, assuming we would go national.Property bought was in Calif, so more expense to Foreign File both entities.Started looking into creating my own Property Mgmt (PM) business to control out-of-state holdings.Then I learned:PM requires a broker's license or to be under his control almost everywhereThat stopped National expansionwhich then made the S-Corp and LLC unnecessary (to me; I accepted personal risk)Did get good liability insurance and suggest an extra Umbrella policy if you're going to buy&hold (aka become a landlord).

I don't have much capital at the moment but I'm not going to let that stop me.

Good luck in all your REI ventures.

So I'd say "Stop fooling around with talking to professionals to create a team, they ain't going to help you until you get a DEAL!!