.- Almost impossible to get any kind of unit damage paid for beyond what you have in a security deposit The rest of your statements about the homes needing a ton of work, contractors costing the same, and dealing with properties that are very tough to force appreciate are spot on.I personally do not invest in Section 8 housing anymore because they are normally cash flow purchases.  

Or for Closing cost, Ernest money deposits, etc.

For example contractor qoutes you 30k for renovations with a deposit of 10k.

The tenants must have a strong application and a landlord reference with the cat, pay a larger deposit and higher rent, and they are inspected more often.Nothing will stop the odor.

I just want to make sure that I am able to fully validate all of the financials and not on the hook/forfeit my deposit if the numbers do not match what's being advertised. 

Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

Prior to anyone submitting an application ensure you share your rental criteria clearly ( i.e. credit score, your preference on acceptance of rental collections, evictions, felonies, misdemeanors, pets etc. ) as well as sharing any additional charges ( i.e. monthly pet rent, pet deposit(s), security deposits, admin fees etc. ) people unqualified will usually "walk" as this stage and that is where you will save time. 3.

While we knew that all hard money lenders are not created equal, and some could be good….we knew from our own experience that using hard money could cause a deal to fall apart by making the process less seamless than we needed it to be.What ensued was a month-long nightmare that tested our patience and threatened to derail everything we had worked for.The lender moved at a snail’s pace, bogging us down with endless requests for additional walkthroughs, appraisals, and paperwork.

Typically lenders would request 2 months of rental receipt + bank statement showing the tenant paying the 2 months of rent to the landlord OR 1 months of rent + security deposit if the lease just started.

I offered to add the 2 dogs to the existing lease for a refundable deposit of one months rent.