If they have been paying on time and taking care of the place, there is no need to screen them.If they want their friend or family member to live with them, then you screen that person and decide if you want them living there. 

@Dmitriy Fomichenko not sure if you were aware, but depending on your income and circumstances, you can convert that money into a Roth IRA, tax free.A friend of mine lives in Washington state (no state income tax) and his taxable income is about $50k a year.

I always suggest finding an investor friendly real estate agent as they can be your gateway to all other connections!

For example, we have a friend with an LLC with four beneficial owners.  

An ATX friendly STR realtor that I reccomend is CRIBS Consulting.

I owner occupy the home, renting a room to a friend at $650/mo, and the lower unit rents for $1850/mo - total rental income of $2500/mo.

They sold two appreciated duplexes in Dallas and we turned them into 8 units in Mesa, AZ with higher cash-flow, and much closer proximity to Southern California.I'll add to your Phoenix "pros" list:1) Landlord friendly rental rules2) Easy evictions in < 30 days3) Rents are rising faster (on a % basis) than many other metro areas4) Low property taxes (and the property taxes don't sky rocket after a purchase as they do in CA)5) Very low vacancy and extremely high tenant demand.

To me, PML is a friend of a friend or an Uncle or a co-worker's father. 

Dennis, I wish I was able to have grown up close with friends like yourself or even had that nowadays...WOW!

Austin is a sleeping giant right now!