I just need to know how to screen them for the landlord.The applicants are retired, and own a few homes so no sponsor or school..... they are literally just here to see their new grandkids for a few months.....any other recommendations?

I'm very interested in doing this on the side, until I retire from my job and get into real estate investing full time.

We got the bottom apartment looking decent after 2 weeks and I went back to work.After and before work I would finish the bottom apartment or work on the upstairs replacing and repairing.My plan was to take the equity we put in and use it to purchase additional properties.Unbeknownst to me one fateful day the oil company delivered oil to the house, to a boiler that was outside, a tank that was not hooked up, and a homeowner that didn’t want or order it.100 Gallons of fuel oil later and we were dealing with the DEC and contamination cleanup.The appraiser, that I was getting from the bank to explore a HELOC, came the same day as the oil spill and still appraised the house during the chaos of the morning and afternoon.The bank would not lend on the house due to the spill (which we are still cleaning up) but the appraiser did set the value at 104K.We keep dealing with the cleanup, and have been for months, and it seems to be coming along.I decided to empty my retirement in order to purchase another property while we wait for the cleanup to be finished.

The roof, hardwood flooring, windows, gas fireplace, and water heater are all new as of late 2014.The best thing I think, is that I have a closer working relationship with the owner already as he is my landlord who is retiring, and I have been renting this place from him for the past year, so I definitely know it pretty well.

Look for an older, retiring investor who owns a property and is ready to give up the property management game.

I know of several investors local to me in Ohio that started at 45-55+ and used the above positive traits I mention to amass 20-30-50+ rental properties quickly and be fully retired within 3-5 years from the cashflow. 

He would invest with me, but he plans to retire in a year.

My goal is to build a portfolio that will guarantee a healthy and luxurious retirement, along with funding a few vacations for the wife and I.

If you can afford to keep the rental then you are already 1 home into a portfolio for retirement.  

I am a "retired" professional poker player, I have been fortunate to do fairly well over the years in poker, but I have become disillusioned with playing the game for a living, and feel like it is time for a change.