She sees it inside and out, says she likes it...and as she hands my PM the deposit money and also the first month's rent she requests a couple of very very very minor things.My PM says he will take care of it within 48 hours....nothing major, and gives her the keys, and drops her back off at her hotel. 

Having some cash aside is nice, but being ready on the investment opportunity is key. 

As a result it's often a rather time consuming process for me to type up a response to someone's forum post...and as you said we're all busy and I sadly just don't make my time on BP as much of a priority as maybe I should.Thing brings me to my third point...the majority of the threads where I do comment, are around the key words that I follow.

I told the property manager to offer 350 for cash for keys if he was out by Friday, as a manager he had never heard of something like this and after a little resistance and me explaining the number difference he agreed. 

The key here is finding an agent that works with investors.

We now have a lock box with a key inside attached to the gas meter, just in case the batteries fail.

From what I’m learning, a dependable contractor is key.

Does anyone know of some good turnkey providers for somebody starting fresh  in buy and hold real estate?

Good inspections will also be key.  

I think you need to look very, very carefully at the local job market and the key employers as well as growth and new construction inventory.