Very excited to continue to dive into this line of asset collection and hopefully build a great portfolio for myself!

Off of the purchase contract, I would verify proof of funds, ask for prequalification letter from a lender if buyer is receiving a loan, with a good faith deposit.

Also there are plenty of rent scammers out there saying they have a rental and collecting app fees on a ghost house and sometimes even getting a deposit.

My place sleeps a lot, and so, is often rented by large groups of "friends", no one with a majority stake in the collective negative outcomes of their behavior. 

If you have more faith in stocks - stay where you are.

It is increasingly common for a PM to charge a "leasing fee" which covers all the costs of marketing, showing, screening, placing tenant under contract, collecting deposit and rent, setting up utilities, getting the tenant placed, etc.If the PM can't justify the cost, then they shouldn't be charging it.

This way, maintenance, repairs, and taxes are the responsibility of the new owner, while you continue to collect principal and interest, potentially as tax-free income.I'm not a CPA, just a heads-up 😄, but you could possibly avoid capital gains tax with this approach.

Can I still make an LLC and just collect the rent and put the maintenance and mortgage payments through that LLC?

If they trash your place and you send them to collections, they won't care because their credit is already bad.If mom and the son were living together, and mom had really good credit, then there may be some wiggle room to consider them.

Remember, if you have to carry a gun to collect rent, you made a bad investment decision.