This is why I always advise my clients to have all occupants go through a background check to be considered for a lease renewal.

Thanks RalfRalf -I'm afraid you haven't given enough information here for me to completely and professionally answer your question.It depends on how the "company" is set up.If it's a sole proprietorship, then you would be technically lending funds to yourself.

It is like a an automobile and has it's own title and technically is movable.A mobile that has had "elimination" of title is something else.

Applicants offer to pay a full year in advance to jump in line ahead other candidates or to distract you from looking into their background too deeply.

Deegan and @Arda Bircan There are technically 7 Tests for Material Participation (but 3 that are most common) -> the individual 500 hour mark, that the activity of the individual is substantially all, and that the individual participates more than 100 hours + no-one else spends more time than them.Litmus Test: Are your hours integral to the operationsThe hours that qualify must be substantially all hours and have a legitimate impact on the rental activities.Activities that generally count: showing the property for rent, taking tenant applications & screening tenants, preparing & negotiating leases, cleaning & preparing the units for rent, repairs, and improvements, managing the construction, purchasing supplies & materials, inspecting the property, responding to tenant complaints & inquiries, collecting & depositing rents, evicting tenants, writing & placing advertisements, and working on your websiteActivities that don't count: education & research, investor-type activities, and travel time..

Instead of lowering my standards on background checks, I waited a bit longer for the right tenants just like you suggested.

@Matthew Paul:Without getting too technical here, most general contractors actually incorporate and provide their services through an entity operating as a business or company of some sort.. so its not clear what your initial point is.

I like to use data, coming from an engineering background, and I see the data and trends over history, this can be used as a guide only to help with investment decisions (it’s not a guarantee but another tool to use). 

As for a W-9, that is required if you're reporting to the IRS that company/person's earnings and technically is required for anything paid over $600 (I believe) to a single person/entity in a given year so you can issue a 1099.

I’d recommend that you just be yourself around the tenants from other backgrounds than yours and focus on being consistent with them.