We have a system in place to consistently find deals, it is time consuming and you have to be good at it if you want to do well. 

The most time consuming part is the financial management and property managers have resources to collect assessments and automate accounting so that the books are always in order on a monthly basis.

Motivation for this move is:1) Longevity - the fixtures we are using are rated for an 22-25 year life;2) Cost reduction - the bedroom fixture we use replaces 2 60w incandescent bulbs (120watts) and consumes  ~15watts3) Theft reduction - Students never buy light bulbs ... at least not until they have gone through every bulb in the house ... they just pull bulbs from other fixtures to replace the where the "need" a light.

Summary:   The underworld of consumer debt collection and the unregulated collectors who buy and sell your unpaid bills for pennies on the dollar, Thursday on NPR's Fresh Air.Patrick @anugunn

Personally I think this type of investing requires a more hands-on-learning approach.Like many have stated, the idea is to buy a non-performing note at a discount, contact the borrower (within consumer protection guidelines), negotiate a win-win-win solution, collect payments.The idea of it sounds easy enough, but the actual practice will require much more in depth understanding of the rules and regulation as to what you can or cannot do.Suggested Reading, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: http://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/fair-debt-collection-practices-act-text 

If I say I want a certain price and then snicker under my breath knowing I'll take a lot less it makes things more time consuming & stressful for all and breaks down any kind of win-win relationship that could be possible. 

Jesse, you know what you're asking, I'm not so sure.Renting to an affiliate or subsidiary business entity is departmentalized accounting and is fine, renting back to a stockholder or another individual owner, you're mixing aspects of commercial operations with consumer use, this has arm's length issues.

Kidding... kinda :) - A good place to start: http://www.mass.gov/ago/consumer-resources/consume...3. 

Is the poor credit as a result of medical bills, student loans, consumer debt, losing an owned home, or something worse?  

Will Gaston If it is only liability you seek, check your umbrella policy to see if it will cover, or can be enhanced to cover, these "inventory properties".