Credit checks tell you some sense of how they handle their money.

If that's not an option, I would recommend he look into his state and local municipalities' rules on how to handle abandoned vehicles.

And you can't legally dictate how much they carry for personal belongings. 

I would think you should approach some local banks and see how they will handle your situation.

How did you handle it?

From a personal standpoint I target 70% LTV for any investment I have that way gives me ability to sell it if I need tooI'm Canadian so it a T4 up here and yes I'm I high earner who can handle vacancies if need be. 

While I have managers handling the daily operations, I still oversee everything remotely.

to see if you like it and can learn/handle the require underwriting. - contact @Jay Hinrichs about this, pay him if necessary, as he's been doing for 25+ years.Good luck!

If you go that route, ensure to use a Qualified Intermediary to handle the sale/purchase otherwise there will be no 1031 exchange. 

im in Orange County CA and there is a huge market here for room by room rentals here. i've been doing this for quite some time (over a decade now), and it certainly has its pro's and cons. my advice if you go about this is make sure you do proper vetting before moving someone in... not only for financials/ credit-worthiness, but also for temperament and expectations in a co-living space. we ask a lot of questions like "how do you handle conflict?"