So this post is only tangentially related to investing, but I'm hoping folks here can still offer some guidance on a few questions I have.

Whether it is folks looting a Nieman Marcus store going unpunished or tenants not having to pay rent, to me it is the same ailment.

Curious to know how have folks tackled this part.

When I tell folks this, they never believe it.

I live in the Bay Area. I see many deals are positive cash flow (I guess the same in the other metropolitan areas such as NY, Miami, LA). I understand that income/ratio is better in areas like Texas, Midwest, etc. But...

Is there a localized property search website that folks use for the greater Charleston SC area? 

Nowadays with technology, while you're sitting there, in the last 5 minutes you might have 3 text messages from agents wanting to hear back from an offer they sent 10 minutes ago.

I have some experience in real estate, but no where close to other folks in the community.

All STR folks are doing it from a distance.

Since this is our first go around at house improvements and landlording, I thought this would be a good forum to pose the question to folks who've been doing this for a while.My main question is... how did/do you approach creating a timeline and budget for making certain updates while you're living inside the unit.