For most investors starting out or building a long-term portfolio, traditional homes on solid foundations offer stronger, more predictable returns.My advice — focus on properties that deliver consistent cash flow and steady equity growth.

Here’s how I’d underwrite and structure this, speaking as a landlord/investor who’s been through plenty of “tenants-not-paying” acquisitions.Quick take: Either (A) make the seller deliver the property vacant at closing, or (B) get a steep enough discount + protective terms to be over-compensated for the time, cost, and risk of removing non-paying occupants.

Most of the larger deals I see locally require very active management or significant rehab to reach strong cash flow.If you don’t mind sharing, which towns or neighborhoods in Snohomish County have consistently delivered the best risk-adjusted returns for you?

My focus is on turning distressed or underperforming assets into profitable, well-managed investments through creativity, transparency, and consistent execution.At Real360, we deliver performance-driven property management and investment solutions across Florida, including:💼 Eviction & Lost Rent Coverage🏚️ Malicious Damage Protection🛡️ Liability & Legal Coverage💳 Rent Collection & Maintenance Coordination📊 Portfolio Optimization & Asset Growth StrategiesThis actually isn’t my first time on Bigger Pockets — I had an older account that I lost somewhere along the way.

When you’re self-managing, the key is finding a screening service that’s FCRA-compliant, offers direct client support, and values accuracy over speed of results :Full Credit Reports with FICO Scores (soft-pull preferred so it doesn’t impact the applicant’s credit).Nationwide Criminal and Eviction Searches that are manually verified for accuracy.Employment and Income Verification Tools that connect directly to payroll or bank data instead of relying on uploaded documents.Identity Verification Features that confirm facial biometrics and ID authenticity to prevent fraud.You’ll want something that integrates easily with your application workflow — whether you send applicants a link or manually enter their info — and delivers reports within a few hours.Feel free to message me any time if you’d like to chat.

Others go with a reputable remote firm, which can sometimes be more cost-friendly and still deliver high-quality engineering studies.

Its a powerful platform that's free, easy to use, and specifically designed for real estate investors and landlords so I would recommend any savvy landlords to look into it.Some Features:Free and Feature-Packed: Let's face it, nothing beats free, and Baselane delivers serious value without a monthly fee.

It sounds good when they can deliver a building fully rented.

For bird‑dogging across Ontario and Georgia, keep it simple and legal-first: avoid “referral fee” language where licensing laws restrict it, and instead use a written “marketing/lead assignment” or “consulting” agreement that clearly states you’re paid for delivering verified lead info, not negotiating or practicing real estate; get a local attorney in each jurisdiction to sanity‑check the template.

   •   Exit strategy wise: With median sale around ~$350K-$360K, your rehab budget + purchase needs to align to deliver a compelling ARV in this range.📍 Polk County GAKey Stats   •   Median listing home price: ~$284K (August 2025) up ~5.4% YoY