I never really considered small claims court.

SFR investers always want a deal, and investor buyers tend  not want to pay for the prior investors rennovations.The turnkey guys with a marketing machine get a good price, but regular buyer's will never pay their premium on SFR.

One of the simplest and most effective things you can do is keep a fridge (Mini or regular) stocked with drinks at your job site as a thank you.

This ensures that they can't later claim that they were not paid and lien your house, causing title problems that may prolong or prevent the sale of your property.  

I think $60 is reasonable for a service call fee, as this not only includes diagnosis, but also shopping for the parts, buying them, coming back a few days later to finish the job, etc.Some places charge less for the service call, but end up taking a 50% mark up on all materials so you end up paying more.When dealing with landlords, when not an emergency and they give me regular business, I often end up just charging the time spend in their buildings at a flat hourly rate plus the parts at list price.

-you screen the tenants the same as regular (minus the 3x or 2x income requirements; i think they have to satisfy that only for their portion of the payment)-i suggest contacting the local HA (Housing Authority) and get a feeling and also find the needs around the apartment sizes you have.

Otherwise, regular conventional loans will be 25% down for 4 units.

I'm hoping we can make this a regular event.

Just save up for your next down payment on a regular loan after getting an FHA.

I just skimmed your post, but it seems like you're asking for options to get started now, while bank/regular lenders want to wait until you have 24 months on the job (which is common by the way).Since you're so close, at 18 months, I'd say you should line up private/hard money just in case you come across any great deals, then when you qualify for bank financing you can refinance out the private/hard money loan with conventional financing.I frequently do this with properties, using private $ to buy a good deal quickly, then 6-12 months down the road (after I stabilize the property and give a good return to my lenders) I'll refinance with a regular bank loan.