Finally, the tenant may do the maintenance wrong and cause a fire burning your house down (which may or may not be covered by the insurance).

As far as lease options, I love buying properties via subject-to and selling the properties on a lease option.

In Nevada it was an exempt transaction and not subject to tax. 8)

Sometimes having one is a disadvantage as you are subject to a higher code of ethics being a licensee.

The best ways to find deals are:1. bandit signs2. letters3. door knocking 4. networking like crazy (everyone should know that you are the "subject-to" guy, or the "lease option" guy.

However, you may have a large amount of personal assets and to add a layer of protection, your attorney may or may not reccommend an entity for liability purposes.If you are doing a lot of them, it certainly can not hurt, and the $ you would be making would more than cover the annual expenses of the entity.

I have been fortunate in that I have never been in any confrontation with squatters, drug-users or the like, but if I ever have to be, I want my faithful companion by my side.Remember - If you have a good shooting stance, you are neither running fast enough nor using cover effectively.

Any offer is subject to the bank’s approval, but the owner still has to sign the paperwork.

Houston may require a permit for this, but AFAIK all repair guys are licensed by the state and have to pay into a "risk" pool to cover boo-boos if they go out of business.

Here is a link on the subject from the Wall Street Journal Real Estate section.http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/tactics/20070321-kim.htmlAlso check my my past posts on the subject.I am also looking to get into student rentals.