Been at this for 18 yrs and have always taken the position:Can't trust the applicant to do this correctly and you may well get last years which is useless.I pay for the reports (cost of business) and get current data from Experian or Trans Union.I pull the CR, BG, Eviction reports ONLY after they pass muster:  Verified employment, income, prior landlord comments, so the expenses are well constrained.I also ignore the FICO score as that's the Banks view and I'm more interested in the 30,60,90 lates as that demonstrates their current habits.

For a small house, I think you can get close to or at $50K if you remove some of the labor costs by DIY and ignore some things like permit costs, tap fees, other site improvements.

If he is still too ignorant move on. 

Too many times I see people ignore the Fair Housing Act and only look to the ADA guidance.So where the ADA says the animal must be a dog (with a narrow exception for miniature horses) - under FHA the tenant would be allowed to have a reasonable accommodation for animals other than a dog (e.g., Cat).Here are a few good resources on service animals in housing:https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?...

Hi MitchBeing a foreign national, I can tell that yes, there are obstacles :- First one is ignorance : lack of information and educationIn our country (France), owner financing does not exist.

Pardon my ignorance on this whole subject.  

Ignoring the numbers is not a good idea, but understanding the numbers applicable to your locale is key.

Can landord just ignore me for paying rent late?

Forgive my ignorance on this aspect of financing since I've only bought 2 properties so far...

Pardon my ignorance, I'm just not sure how that works.