Of course I recognize the humor in that statement, (a hard money lender talking about good reputations) but I actually do have a good reputation and am careful to recommend only people I trust. 

Utilities bills normally follow people but not address, right?

However, it is possible to invest your retirement funds in alternative investments such as real estate, trust deeds, tax liens, private companies, syndication, private lending, etc. etc.

trulia.com - look at crime rates, street views of properties, GIS driven data for house values, previous price pointsrentometer.com - use free searches to determine average rent in an area based on the address and number of bedroomsIs the property generally rentable or sellable in that area?

@Calvin RankinIn some states the Real Estate Licensure laws have been changed to address the issue of wholesaling because in a lot of cases wholesalers do not know what they are doing.

@Ken Law your lease and/or state law should address abandonment. 

I purposely staggered the leases to expire 2 months apart, and I made them shorter so that I could get a feel for the tenants and address any issues with a new lease if they opt to stay on.

Trust me, it's much easier BEFORE something goes bad in your business.Happy InvestingDerek Dombeck

To sum it up, it’s all about the relationship, and two key components to a successful relationship is reliability and trust....

But it requires you to do everything you say you'll do, and therefore a lot of trust form the seller.