I would add research your state's creditor protection laws and think about keeping an open ended line of credit if you need to deploy capital later

What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.?

Lots of ways to improve the situation.   

Assumption by an EntityUnfortunately, assuming a VA loan directly through a legal entity (such as an LLC, corporation, or trust) is typically not allowed because:Primary Residence Requirement: VA loans are designed for owner-occupied properties, meaning the assuming borrower must intend to live in the property as their primary residence.Credit Review: The VA and lender require the assuming party to undergo a personal credit and income review to ensure repayment ability, which entities cannot satisfy.3.

One option is to give the front house a credit for water based on averages, but I don't know if I would agree to that as a tenant. 

Can her status and credit be of help as well?

Time saving in property acquisition, building improvements, purchasing living units, etc.3.

Given current market conditions for sale and improving demographics, syndicator is planning on holding longer than anticipated.  

If you choose not to show up, he would almost certainly be awarded a judgement.Of course, you could choose not to pay the judgement, but then he can send it to a collections agency and your credit score will be trashed.I don't see a scenario here where you get through this cleanly.  

I’ve used all the rental cashflow since I started investing to buy more and more houses, or to pay off 401k loans and 0% interest for a year credit card loans to scale up.