I am looking at acquiring two bed and breakfasts whose prior owners did not keep good records or shut down because of Covid. 2M and 3M sale prices.

@Alex Peters- Following this thread for additional ideas, but here are my thoughts:check bank account statements to make sure they have adequate reservescheck court records to assess litigation activity - both for the business entity and its principalsbusiness credit reportDo they have experience with other properties in Joshua Tree? 

You can set to only record motion, the presence of a car, the presence of people or record constantly. 

But you will most likely not be able to get premium rates until you have a proven record in managing other peoples property.  

Some places (Cook county, Illinois, some big cities) forbid using criminal records (including felonies) over X years old, so you may not be able to deny just on a criminal record. 

Or is it, because they are "private" money lenders, there is no public records to refer to? 

For the record, I have read:- Loopholes of Real Estate by Gary Sutton- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki- Investing in Real Estate with Little to no Money Down by Brandon Turner- Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor by Han & McFarland- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel- The Book on Rental Property Investing (first book I've read here) by Brandon Turner- The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary KellerReading has been my biggest source for knowledge and Brandon Turner has become one of my favorite authors now!

But they didn’t because it would have gone on their track record.

You can usually get samples of the format from the County Recorder or Court employee who accepts deeds for recording.  

NC is a trustee state, so a mortgage default will trigger the "power of sale" process as spelled out in the recorded Deed of Trust.