Yes, some are better than others, but they are all "overworked & underpaid".8) Class C Neighborhoods: we recommend newbie investors start with Class B, but Class C can work if your expectations are aligned with the realities of the market.9) Turnkey Properties: we agree that many offered have suspect quality.

Schedule HVAC cleaning/inspection first, let the tech naturally point out air quality concerns.

It is worth asking whether the market response was influenced by the condition or quality of the rehab itself.

It is about making sure they still do a quality job and have solid personal referrals.

Many investors believe that interest rates are the reason why deals have ceased, but from what I've seen, that hasn't been the case.The finance method has changed, not the opportunity.A few investors are switching to:Property income-based deals that are eligibleShort-term funding for value-addingLoans are structured around the transaction rather than personal income.Are you wondering what tactics other people here are employing to maintain deals in the current market?

Quality does the opposite.

Perhaps your premise is true for some passive "real estate investors" but based on my personal experience and completely anecdotal observations, professional landlords that are running a landlording small business and managing their own portfolios produce results that far exceed those of most professional property management companies in both quality of maintenance and tenant selection. 

As doors increase, most owners shift to a single intake method for maintenance, even if everything else still feels informal.What people often move toward:Tenants send maintenance through a portal or dedicated email, not personal textsEach request creates a trackable work order with photos, timestamps, and notesVendor updates and invoices stay tied to that same threadThis setup solves the common breakdowns: missed messages, no paper trail, and forgotten follow-ups.Many small landlords make the switch around 5–10 units — not just from volume, but because memory stops being a reliable system and disputes get more costly. 

If you invest enough time in it, you'll get better.The thing with social media is that it's ease of access actually leads to low quality leads/investors.

Is there a particular method you find that works?