Lastly, always remember, an applicant who “wants to move ASAP” is not only not your problem...it’s actually a red flag you should watch out for and do extra screening on.

If you are going to remove it the landscaping crew should be able to give you an estimate to cut the tree down to the stump vs grinding/pulling roots out.

BRRRR.. maybe you can take advantage of the cold weather and suffering of local landlords dealing with high vacancy to swipe up some deals.. paradoxically the market is still red hot (maybe not so paradoxically given low supply, high demand, low interest rates, etc, etc). 

As an experienced landlord of many years, "she can afford $900" for a house that should rent for $2500 to $3k (1%) is a huge (can I say it with bigger emphasis) HUGE red flag.  

Watch out for red flags (no financials, evictions in process, non answers to your questions regarding tenants and/or mechanicals). 

I think you can limit the number of adults in one property as part of your criteria (verify for your state).It's a red flag for me to need that many people to make your minimum income/rent requirement.Make sure you are familiar with the fair housing rules and you apply your criteria the same way for any applicants to your properties.

Is it worth buying a place in a very desireable area, having to dump $50k into it and operating in the red for 5 years before turning a profit?

I am debating funding my rentals through my self directed IRA or if I should just cash it (or some out) and take the tax hit to eliminate a lot of the red tape I am seeing with using the IRA?

That should have been my red flag right there...

Is this common or a red flag?