Maintain a credit score of 620 or higher, save for a down payment, and research markets carefully.

I asked why she didn't mail the payment and she said she did not want to pay the 49 cents for the stamp, had an annual bus pass and riding on the bus gave her time to read books about real estate investing.

You share the lease, you share his payment history, and you give a total of what is owed.

Late rent payments, etc. 

Most lenders are going to want to see a few big things from the ownership group. 1) The borrower will be the enitity (LLC, S-Corp, etc) and any owner with usually 20% or more of ownership in the entity will be expected to guaranty the loan, 2) We'll want to see some experience doing similar projects from at least one of the main owners, 3) We'll want to see bank statements showing liquidity enough to cover the intial cash injection (down payment), the closing cost, and some cash in reserve.

Also did not know a possible payment method could be so polarizing.

The more money you save, the lower your monthly payment because the more you can put down.This is really great advice....some of the best. 

With this particular method, when you purchased the homeowners insurance it would have listed you as the owner, but when the claim is filed your LLC would be the owner.

My current monthly mortgage payment plus projected future mortgage payment (2900+2900 = 5800).

Keep in mind, though, that this approach comes with higher down payment requirements and interest rates, which may not be as favorable