I ran the Transunion SmartMove background check with credit report, criminal history, and eviction report and it came back clean, but had to reject two other applicants after their SmartMove scores came back low for low credit scores and numerous pre-eviction filings at local courts.  

Last year was really busy but this year has been really quiet with a drop off in tenants looking for office/retail space.

Some of these properties are unusually shaped, heavily over grown, but not necessarily in horrible locations (on a busy road, in a dangerous neighborhood).

If your rental is located on a back street that doesn't have a lot of traffic, you may be able to use a bandit sign on a close by busy street to alert passer byes that a rental is available round the corner, or something like that.

However, real estate business is not that easy, so learn as much as you can through online resources and then look for a mentor. 

I've met a few here in town, but they weren't quite a good match for our business.

I've been in the apartment business in some form or another for the past 10 years and still learn something new everyday.

I've been involved in several areas of residential contracting, and have owned businesses such as remodeling, paint contracting, and landscaping.

Do you guys have any tips or lessons for a newbie in this business?

If not, where are you supposed to be finding business outside of your own marketing/advertising spend?