Slumlordworker,
Heed Pat's and Eagles advice. I get the feeling from thier posts, they have "been there and done that" too.
I got burned when I first started out doing that small resi stuff from small GC's.
One tip I can offer to you is get to know your local inspector well. Be polite to him/her. It turns out they know who the "crooks" are and who are the good GC's to work for.
Dnk......
