We gave him a chance and he gave us an eviction case that cost several thousands in lost rent, fees, and haul out.

I am currently living in Seattle with my fiancee but we tentatively plan to move to the Midwest in 2-4 years.That being said, we are interested in investing our money and want to get into real estate for the long haul(probably brrrr).

I have tons of contacts for realtors, contractors, wholesalers, prop manage, tree, lawn, trash haul, cleaning, you name it. 

Originally posted by @Stuart Smith:Some good points , but some of you didn’t read the question.....It’s also clear some of you have never been through a recession.....I can guarantee, from considerable experience , that when a downturn comes , your class B super neighborhood tenant, the flash guy with a Merc and a house full of toys and kids will be the first to lose his overpaid job, and the first to default on the $1500 rent.....whereas Mr Reliable in Detroit who works at Walmart and pays $450 a month will continue to do so.....But this is about $30k houses, local or out of state......about DOING this, going this route, not reasons why not too...

You can certainly slumlord it, but that tends to not work over the long haul and it's hard to build a portfolio around homes that never have any true value.My recommendation would be to purchase 2 homes at under $100k that will rent at $1,000/mo or more.

During the application process I ask if they have any ANIMALS, if they check no and bring in Bobby the pit bull,  Chihuahua now, toy poodle, whatever and try to pass it off is a ESA I will evict them not for the animal but for falsifying their application.  

That said, I now have enough cash reserves to cover most major things, so I'm toying with the idea of ignoring the 25% altogether to grow quicker.

Yes, I use credit checks as a factor in deciding who to rent toYes, I've had success without themNot sure how you define poor credit, generally speaking (and not my exact guidelines) above 700 is fine, 650-700 depends on the factors, i.e. is it student loan/overall debt load or is it because of late payments in the recent past, below 650-600 will require additional rent payments upfront.  

It is the best car I have ever owned, but it is a toy.

But over a couple of years, after knowing that I would stick with real estate for the long haul, I started buying in an LLC.