Bill & Bryan,As mentioned previously, I'm extremely interested in entering some sort of partnership or mentorship for anyone interested...40 hours or 80 hours...I'm ready to go.

On paper, their application looks good and doesn't show any red flags, but in person they are demanding and extremely nit-picky about tiny little details about the house.So how do I deny someone when they meet all the criteria on paper, but I can see they will be a problem tenant in the future?

There are some loud voices out there saying if you don't do REI this or that way you are doing it badly.

FYI these types of liens are extremely negotiable.

Extremely low inventories and multiple bids on homes.

My father owns 3 rentals and is an electrician who is extremely handy and knowledgeable in that area.

Barfood is also a decent place for meeting since it usually isn't too loud or crowded for talking.

Moreover, if the seller is resisting having the utilities on, I'd view that as a HUGE red flag (similar to how I'd view it if someone tried to sell me a used car, but wouldn't let me test drive it or even start the engine).Since correct and thorough due diligence is the foundation of successful REI, I'd be extremely hesitant to buy a property without testing the aforementioned items (unless the property was so heavily discounted that I could replace/fix all of those items if they turned out to be faulty...but even then, I'd be wary).I'd suggest strategizing with your agent on the best way to get the utilities turned on so you can do a correct inspection...Good luck out there!

Especially for SFR see the roommate ordinance:  with a single family home you literally have no control over the number of roomates the tenants choose to bring in,  all they have to do is claim an extremely overbroad "family" relation to bypass all screening and all occupancy limits.   

Just browsing through this forum has been extremely informative so far.