I am absolutely floored, and I couldn't have done it without the help of many many people. .... 2 months ago I was working a factory job at a place that makes generic pharmaceutical drugs, and I could not have been unhappier.

That, in my opinion, speaks to their overall character.I had a tenant whose background check showed a drug conviction that was 6 years old, but no other red flags.

It was a drug house.

This gave me the idea that doing something similar might help to alleviate the somewhat expensive cost of an apartment.

It is not my type of building but you know if you have rent paying tenants and you don't continue the bucket and board tradition I would rather have these tenants then drug dealers that I would associate with a slum anyday.

How would combining the two rooms upstairs into one alleviate that problem?

A landlord reference can help alleviate concerns about damage, cleanliness and whether they play well with others.For what it's worth, some housing authorities are easier to work with than others.

I mean I want to offer no money down, (and no cash), but then switching to offering 5% down to alleviate their worryAnother way of doing this I thought is that I could offer a handsome interest rate, like 8%, but in return I want only 5% down (and then for my own sale I could ensure there's no prepayment penalty just in case I want to pay it off/sell it in the future)

You could alleviate the issue with estoppel letters (letters to the tenants asking what the current terms are that they are living under, to include rent obviously, as well as other terms).

It's an interesting thread to read, no one can seem to understand why horrible credit, and drug trafficking charges would make a landlord not interested in renting to someone.