I've never had a tenant willing to do that.The other option is that he is telling me the truth and he was deported, and an unknown person was living in the house. 

most people are giving you the "clean up your credit" advice because its the most prevailing honest truth. no one is saying it is a show stopper but it is a significant barrier to entry unless you have significant capital in the bank. the greatest returns in RE come from the ability to leverage. in most cases, leverage is based on credit.

I know its a little harsh but its the truth.  

I would tell the truth, but never had trouble renting the unit or others in the building.

@Omar KhanHey Omar,Ain't that the truth!!!

If you are taking out a mortgage with a bank, fill out the application truthfully as asked.

hi there @Colin Dunne, welcome to the world of bpthere are many ways to go about investing in real estate and the truth is that there is no wrong way of going about it.as long as you #getstarted is the main thing, oh yes and don't lose money, there is some great information out there is on this website as well as youtube etc. the podcasts on here are amazing and they allow you to hear others successful stories as well as what was their motivation to get them going and continue pushing on.i'm soon starting my own meet up here in the area and bring in people that can help along the ways through this process,i'll keep you posted on the dates.

They say that mailing for money can be used to augment the driving for dollars.

I know there are hundreds of "gurus" out there who'll sell you a course to learn from (a bunch of manuals and CD's) that truthfully, most people never finish.

Don't take what they say as 100% truth, but combined with other sources, this will improve the accuracy of your estimates.