So to update… We spoke with my MIL and she loves the idea and the nature of her relationship with us I don't see any issues arising from it.

Like a lot of things of this nature, I doubt they check up on it much, but the consequences of being caught could be huge (I think with HUD, it's something like up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although I don't think they would go that far).One way they could catch it that I've at least heard speculated about are the utilities not being in your name.

Human nature tells me that's a big fat NO.

That's been the nature of the market here for the past year.

How about natural gas?

I called Nick once with some questions and he was kind enough to speak to me; he didn't rush me off the phone, gave me some sage advise and told me a couple funny stories.

We charge an application fee to cover part of the processing cost - naturally, if we cannot pull a credit history, then we stop processing.

Can you do it when they are naturally out of the house?

I'm a newbie myself, but @Dan Brewer 's post sounds like sage advice that I'd follow especially given what sounds to be red flag information; an 8yr old appraisal, really?

But, without more details about your business and the nature of the marketing, we can't give you a definitive answer.