I self lease, and have had some success by meeting all my tenants, shaking their hands, and getting a general "read" on people as they are considering my properties.  

I would welcome any scripts or guidance from people who have had success in this area. 

We had people there for 2 months that smoked in the house.  

I joined the BP community to network with people who I can learn from and also to learn how to analyze deals to give me the confidence to put an offer on something that makes sense for me.

People are leaving your state quickly. 

I have a handyman do a lot of my work but sometimes I don't feel like that actually fixes the real problem and anytime digging is involved people want to charge a fortune.

Since you're just starting out, look for credit cards designed for people with limited or no credit history.

People who dont understand the cost of stuff will always run into people who have zero issue exploiting it.

@J Scott Yes I understood what the spreadsheet was conveying and that there was some materials provided in the labor section since it's difficult to know what the contractor spent on materials since most people pay after the job is done anyway.  

Inflation is in general bad for the lowest people on the totempole which is someone what counterintuitive.