rental train wreck has $ but lousy history

[Pops Warner]

hi, my rental history for the last ten years or so reads like the story of a troublesome gaurd dog. i slept at night in the office of a check cashing business at a strip mall; i stayed in the show room of an antiques store; i lived in a warehouse without the owner's knowledge that i was sleeping there. for the last few months i have been living in a cheap hotel but they raised the rate. the owner of the check cashing place does not want to tell anyone that i was living there. the antiques store owner was literally insane and is now an unreachable transient. the owner of the warehouse learned of the situation as i was moving out and so is not a good spokesperson. the twist here is that a moneyed relative wants to pay my rent on a more permanent place. they will cover 2k/month no problem. how do i approach prospective landlords? should i find an agent?