Market selection is tough because there are so many choices.

@Christian Solis For a fix-and-flip business, structuring your venture as an LLC taxed as an S-Corp is a smart choice, providing both liability protection and tax efficiency.

I am not from real estate background and have been referred to bigger pockets by friends.

Do your due diligence and call references, contact employers, meet the applicant, etc.

If that is the case then that is considered cost of doing business and I would advise that should be calculated in your costs/returns you provide to the investor.IF you are referring to the investor who is the borrower - then I would have included that cost in the loan agreement.

@Stephanie SelbyRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Call 3 references:  Verify that they work there, or that it is an actual person by asking where they work first, and don't mention who you are until after.  

Visiting parents and college sports fans are coming to town no matter what, so the key is making your STR feel like the obvious, no-brainer choice.

Do you check Landlord references?

If his landlord reference for the past five years is good, that would weigh much heavier than his eviction.Based on what you've shared, I think this is a low-risk situation, and I would probably accept them with a deposit equal to one month of rent.