One of the first things I asked during the negotiation phase was to have the tenant removed before I took over.

You could alway try out a HUD or Homepath property during first look phase.  

Within two weeks we were rat free, never to return mostly due to closing the trash can and not placing trash bags on the ground next to the can.Rats don’t just hang out for fun without a food source nearby, they are smart and actually spend most of their day grooming themselves – go figure. 

By the way, San Antonio is my old stomping ground.

@Dmitriy Fomichenko I could repeat what you so eloquently say about this subject but I fear I would not phase things correctly.

The hard money rental phase. 1st month to 12th month before refinance.

Multi-family purchases here should never be made unless you have boots on the ground and understand the neighborhoods.  

I've bought two homes with above ground pools. 

So, hopefully since you have good boots on the ground you will be in good shape.  

I am hoping on our next deal they will come down on interest a bit.Ok, so here's what the house looked like before we bought it:So far, we have painted the exterior, all new vinyl windows, new exterior doors, new garage door and opener, installing French drains and a sump pump due to there being a bad ground water issue in the crawl space last spring, new roof, opened up the kitchen, put in a french door, replaced all the wood flooring, tiled in bathrooms, framed in laundry and mechanical, shelves in the pantry, all new interior paint, heated flooring in master bath, can lighting.