We have stellar credit scores, but we already own one rental and are still paying on student loan debt...

if you don't have stellar credit.

We had a tenant who did not have a stellar score, but had rent history, and income verification, etc.  

To echo what others have said, if your friend managed to do a late pay on a bill after the three of you had already agreed to this plan (which required you all to maintain stellar credit), how can you count on this friend in the future to hold up his end of the bargain?

Thankfully, even at a not so stellar time of year, it’s a great property that I’ve never had issues finding quality tenants for.

We had stellar tenants who took care of their apartment perfectly, but the day before they moved out, they moved the refrigerator to clean beneath it and tore the vinyl floor covering. 

Trusting to simply inherit a stellar deal is not generally aggressive enough to grow your investments.

The schools her e are stellar and people are dying to get into the district.

That's the debut for the $20K they would have sent in if they were an ordinary lender. 

I'm getting to the point where I want to just live off the income of those.One of the best things that helped me, is to make sure you get and keep a stellar credit rating.