Any and all comments are welcome that add to the stated goal.My goal is to eliminate every single unnecessary step to doing business.

This eliminates having a mother who is responsible for the rent, but the adult kid is the likely irresponsible occupant.

It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.Google Clayton Morris and/or Morris Invest for a cautionary tale of what not to do when buying turnkey real estateUnderstand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it.

It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.Google Clayton Morris and/or Morris Invest for a cautionary tale of what not to do when buying turnkey real estateUnderstand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it.

Also - any advice on how to eliminate one tenant versus the other?

Couple of reasons is FHA carries a higher MIP versus conventional PMI so you can save money by eliminating it with a 80% conventional or lowering it up to 95% LTV conventional.The other thing is if you plan to buy FHA again your going to want to convert the first home "Prior to moving out" into a conventional to avoid FHA issues. 

If you want to juice your yield a bit you can buy floating treasuries and eliminate any duration risk of rising rates. 

Your propose in screening is to discover the lies and eliminate those applicants.

@Kim ThrailkillIn your exampleCalifornia will require you to file a California resident tax return where you report worldwide income(including the rental income in Arizona).Arizona may require you to file an arizona non-resident tax return where you report the rental income on property located in Arizona.While you are reporting the income on both returns, California will provide you a credit for taxes paid to Arizona, which eliminates double-taxation.Ultimately, California has a higher state income tax than Arizona which means ultimately, you are going to pay taxes to California when you have positive rental income.The great thing about rental properties is that you can potentially have a tax loss while having positive cash-flow.

This elimination of my living expense is allowing me to save up for deal #2 this year.