However if the verbal offer elicits a response, you'll have a sense of how motivated the seller is.That being said, a written offer accompanied by pre-approval, attorney/title company information, and clearly defined contingencies will give you the best chance to be taken seriously and ultimately land a deal.I am not 100% sure about the process in California but you'd likely have to hire a home inspector within ~72 hours of an accepted offer.

I would definately stay away from the rougher areas in east st. louis. 

I think you have a clearly defined goals problem.

Accept no one's definition of your life; Define yourself.

An added feature is that the STR provider is as much a business as it is real estate; hence operations defining the customer experience plays an outside roll in success or failure.

Whatever they call them just know that it's not "conventional" loans that measure things like DTI.Generally speaking there are 2 main types of loans for investors: “Conventional” and “Portfolio”Conventional - I'll define these as loans that come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (if you recognize those names).

Defining the goals and being super clear are good points. 

This shows total lack of budgeting and is a sign they will only fall further behind with more excuses.5) Have a defined eviction process, but allow 3-5 days of flexibility for inevitable slow-pays.6) Find handymen that live in an area only 1 Class higher than your property.

It is not clear if you're trying to go for more value in appreciation vs cashflow.Some of the points I'd consider once you define your goals, here are some things I'd keep in mind:* Landlording in Texas will lead to more control as it's more favorable to landlords.* San Antonio will have higher opportunities for cashflow than Austin. * Austin will always be exciting, but Austin has the lowest cashflow (regularly) than the rest of Texas. 

I think the best solution is to clearly define your value proposition and where you could contribute a disproportionate value to a deal.