I mean, a drug dealer will always have enough money to pay the rent...and if he can't surely all of the visitors he'll have will convince him to do the right thing, even if they are all parking on the street and the neighbors are calling the cops...."

Having all of my application material online helps weed out the Luddites, drug dealers, conspiracy theorists, and other "cash only" type mentalities. 

I have a budget spreadsheet that I update each year based on previous year averages, and every year different issues pop up that cause me to spend my profits making the expenses instead.The first year I was the landlord at 22 and people didn't take me seriously, so I got taken advantage of by listening to every non paying tenant issue (flat tires, grandmas sick, have to water the dog, etc. ) The second year I had a property manager who was both stealing from me and renting to drug dealers.

Also, being a drug dealer, I was concerned for my family's safety if things got ugly.

They also have a book specific for California evictions:http://www.nolo.com/products/the-california-landlo...I'm not affiliated.

The students use drugs and their dealer carries a gun and it went from coke to crack to whatever they use to kill themselves these days.

Mike Williams Shawn Torsitano I don't think not wanting to rent to someone because of their line of work is illegal if so then drug dealers could go all breaking bad in your rentals and no one wouldHave any recourse.

A lot of property managers in my area also own or are affiliated with a contracting company.  

But, I think you just need to be affiliated with a broker, then you could do PM on your own. 

So you either want to find a licensed agent who will run comps for you (easy once you have an established and profitable relationship; I expect rather difficult if you are starting from zero) or obtain a  license and find a broker to affiliate with on a part-time basis.In my state, completing the agent class takes a few weeks and about $350-$500.