So what's left is god old human trust and maybe the threat of a bad online review.You can only limit your exposure, like you said, maybe a prepaid credit card etc.

@Jonathan Davis- great  ...as  you have a primary home  - you will need to amass  a down payment of  at least  15%  for a rental property  purchase ....there will also be  closing costs / prepaids / loan fees  ....work on  savings  funds ....get  pre approved  so you know  the  numbers  needed for  what you want to do 

Most financial aid payments seem to be in semester based disbursements, so I am curious if anyone has or would rent in prepaid rental agreements.

If the rent was prepaid before the due date, and there was outstanding invoice to be paid, not unusual to pay it from the collected funds.

I believe the percentage limitations in terms of seller concessions that Bill was referring to would only be in the form of buyer loan closing costs, pre-paids, etc. 

Here’s a quick example of the quote I was given (property:$305k, prepaids/fees: $14k, Loan 1: $244k, Loan 2: $61k, Lender Grant:$1,000, Cash to Close: $13k). 

Raise the price up by $3,000 or $4,000...and take a seller credit at closing (talk with the lender but basically just have it say the credit is for “closing costs and prepaids”).

In Chicago, it's also very difficult to collect and manage security deposits (due to the RLTO) so collecting additional security deposit or prepaid rent is out of the question.

In Arizona, a tenant can pre-pay rent, move in, and request a refund of the pre-paid rent.

You prepaid April’s partial month interest at closing.