Costs in Southern California are pretty high, so we are considering other areas like Las Vegas or Bakersfield - affordable with decent growth potential, but close enough to home to visit prospective properties.We still have a lot to learn, and this site will be an invaluable resource.

Not sure what my next step is other than showing the prospective tenants buildings I'm looking at.

Jimmy S. ..I require deposit after prospect meets renting criteria/credit pulled.

I also use star analyzer to size up prospective deals

Another good one they discuss on one of the podcasts is to drive and get to know your prospective investmetn area.

If you get an angry person, be sympathetic, tell them you will not contact them again.Direct mail only works when you reach out to prospect about 3-4+ times and your response rate will increase with each touch.

It is only then that you are most likely to know how to target prospects, write good copy and close deals that make sense.I'm betting at least 90% of the people who post here and on other forums do NOT make their living as real estate investors.

Can I legally not send out information to prospective tenants based on their email address?

Develop a routine that ties in all aspects of your investing strategy (prospecting, research, marketing, sales, etc) so that each day, each week, each month and so on you know exactly what tasks you are doing, when you are doing them, and why you are doing them.Check out this article:http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifercohen/2013/10/02/5-things-super-successful-people-do-before-8-am/

I've been enjoying brushing up on my old skills, from listening to podcasts to running prospect evals.