Always do a background/credit check, call their last two landlords, collect a security deposit, have a formal lease, call their employer to verify income and to get an idea of how they perform at work and be extremely clear in your standards.

There is virtually no situation where a landlord can kick out a tenant without going through some formal process, typically eviction.

@Ryan Bird you do not need a formal inspection for the tenant, but it can be helpful for you if you don't know what to look for.

The proper chain of events would have been:Tenant hangs clothes>clothes fall down>tenant notifies you via your trouble ticket system (formal, text, whatever) that shelving fell down > you fix or arrange for someone to fix shelving and thank tenant for letting you know. 

How long typically do you go from the LOI issuance to a formal purchase offer and what additional DD are you doing during that period?

My advice is to formalize everything. 

I've never had any RE courses from university or any other formal education so I am going into the industry with almost no knowledge.

Blanket statements about S8 being all good/bad is oversimplifying the issue: it’s simply another means of tenants’ paying their rent and should be considered independent of the formal, written rental qualification standards every landlord/PM should have outlined well before they start showing rental units. 

First floor features living room with wood burning fireplace, formal dining room, kitchen with granite countertops, SS appliances, full bath with beautifully tiled shower, hardwood flooring and recessed lighting.

First floor features living room with wood burning fireplace, formal dining room, kitchen with granite countertops, SS appliances, full bath with beautifully tiled shower, hardwood flooring and recessed lighting.