**Lease and HAP Contract**: Once the property passes inspection, you can sign the lease with your tenant, and HUD will set up a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with you to begin rent payments.

The tenant was responsible for the other 11 months of the lease rent and paid two months and then stopped.

If in Texas, a lease purchase option longer than 180 days without consent from the lender to receive payment from the tenant/buyer is not possible.Also, you can assume the obligations of a VA loan -- it is a non-qualified assumption - meaning the lender is not qualifying or approving of the assumption. 

the answers to all of your questions are... go find those people in person, which is difficult to do out of state unless you're traveling frequently to your chosen market. 

Any advice on the best way to end their lease?

i.e. did you sign leases personally?  

Or perhaps you’ve found success with other strategies like lease options?

The issue I often encounter with this line of thinking is that investors frequently fail to consult their lender about what is permissible.

Obviously you may need to wait until their current lease ends unless they are month to month or unless the existing lease allows you to terminate it because of the sale. 2.

His question was, if you have a long-term residential lease signed 1+ years and the property is rented out, does the mortgage still count against your DTI?