The landlord pays for the reports by credit card and collects the fee from the tenant.

I have seen many investors that I network in Houston that main focus is creating the business cards, websites, attending classes, going to networking events and they complain they have not close a deal in months or even a year, and the reason is that they are focusing in the wrong activities.Best Regards Hector Perez

Savings is important - 6 months of living plus expenses to start up your business (licensing, MLS fees, professional orgs, E&O insurance, basic materials like business cards and signs, plus marketing you plan to do) seems a reasonable estimate.  

I'll also have one "managing" account still that I'll use occasionally for things like my employees and credit-card things... and I'll just reconcile as needed.  

If you don't have reserves this could mean taking on credit card debt, thus starting a downward spiral of high interest debt that can become impossible to climb out of without selling your house. 

By international, I mean no green card, no citizenship, no rights to work in the USA, and no social security number. 

Generally speaking, do not rely on Assessor's cards for assessed values, drive by the property, bring certified funds in incremental cashier's checks (any left over funds takes 2+ weeks to get returned), remember to pay taxes during redemption period, check municipal liens (demo/repair), determine your exit strategies.

So, to continue our example from above, if your mortgage payments with tax and insurance are $1,000 per month, you have a $250 car payment, $250 in credit card payments and a gross income of $4,000, your back end DTI is 37.5% ($1,500 / $4,000 = 37.5%).

The alternative options just so you know what cards are on the table are commercial loans on 1 or all 3 combined.

The title and property card says it a multi-family so do I need to get permits even though the property is said to be a multi-family?