If the applicant comes from the pool of people that I or my tenants know, I use real estate as a way to give back as many of my tenants will not qualify credit wise or may even have a criminal background or would struggle for another reason if I were to just stick to the "background/credit check" criteria. 

Our lender has informed us that we need 12 months of rental history to use the actual rent for financing purposes, or we must rely on the appraiser's fair market short term rental value.

The Trump administration has historically supported this move, aligning with broader efforts to reduce government involvement in housing finance.

Use the top three or four discriminators so applicants can screen themselves.Then you need to have clear screening criteria yourself.

In terms of other factors, I'm not sure there's a lot because I did have some people express interest in filling out an application before, and I actually got really close with one potential tenant, but it was because of the alcohol policy that he ultimately decided to back out.

@Michael Lyons @Sara Finley I have to agree with Sara here, because all of the really good schools are getting so many applications these days they aren't accepting out of geography applications.

I am sure they are a good company that offers some great options but in all fairness if you are not using all of the banks and lenders in the US how can you say your are providing a customer with the best finance option?

To make it work, ensure your HML allows second-position financing, negotiate favorable seller terms, and have backup exit strategies.

Even in HCOL areas, adding an ADU typically does not make sense because developing a single small unit is the most expensive residential development that exists.Adding an ADU is a lot of work (probably more than a brrrr but with worse return), has poor financing options, typically adds less value than the cost of the addition, and detracts something from the primary structure even if it is just yard and privacy.Good luck 

Quote from @Guillermo Perez: Does anyone have experience with seller finance?