I don't accept applications unless these are attached.I don't want to sift 100 applications for a property, so I require these checks and end up with 5 - 10 applicants to choose from.

Way to plan ahead, and there is already a ton of great info in here for you to sift through.

So much info to sift through.... :)

For those that do, sift through the transactions, the agent that has the most properties that you would have purchased is the agent that you should work with. 

However I think the best way to pick a tenant is to accept the first application that meets your criteria and not sift through a pool of applications.

We use the same vendor(s) because it took several years and sifting through several vendors to find a good vendor who is reliable with good pricing.

You really have to sift through the dozens of multifamily operators to find the ones who really know how to underwrite properly. 

I have written some blogs that might help you sift through the agents you come across.

As noted above you can get a 4yr degree for that kind of money, and in some some areas even make a conventional purchase of an SFR( single family residence).Think of what's here on BP - - tons of FREE information by persons who have been there/done that.Using Google, you can always pick up the acronyms and terms to understand what's being discussedCreating a plan as to what you want/expect will help you sift thru the plethora of topics, eg if your goal is to buy&hold property (ie become a landlord), then topics  like wholesaling, notes, and flipping may be interesting, but  not progress  you onto your goal.Lastly, like a school tutor who comes to your home to assist/teach a subject, a real mentor:should be local to you, not just 'online,  available over the phone'come to your homeguide you with the decision process, teaching not just how, but WHYshould still be in the RE business andenjoy teaching  others, at a minimal rate; not in the teaching business at a maximal rate.understand Fair Housing Regulationsand teach you / help you find all the documents necessary to offer, buy, create a lease, estimate costs.

So basically we are where we were before 199A, with sifting through the grey matter when trying to define a trade or business under 162 which doesn't define it clearly itself... but per the Supreme Court in Groetzinger, 480 U.S. 23, 35 (1987), said, “We accept the fact that to be engaged in a trade or business, the taxpayer must be involved in the activity with continuity and regularity and that the taxpayer’s primary purpose for engaging in the activity must be for income or profit.”