Another avenue would be to call your utility companies and ask about installing additional meters.

Deposits from the tenant.Security deposits from the tenant in residential dwelling units shall be deposited in a trust account with a licensed and federally insured depository institution lawfully doing business in this State or the landlord may, at his option, furnish a bond from an insurance company licensed to do business in North Carolina.

We are considering becoming a private lender with them and I am doing some background research on him and his companies and wondering if anyone has done any deals with them.

A professional trustee such as Exeter Trust Company is the way to go if you want it done right, imo. 

And being in California, you really should be using licensed companies for everything.

Yet investors expect a PMC to do all this extra followup for free because they think the program is "gold".We've always accepted S8 tenants and have no plans to stop.It's a decent program if the investor understands the limitations and challenges.Otherwise, it's "fool's gold".

Advice.....For SFH Just accept there will be competing offers for any decent property in those areas. 

They want them all jammed in large apartment complexes, run by large companies, in concentrated areas, away from them.

I have used ALE successfully but 4X rent is not what we got we got 2X there is a limit in the insurance polices as to what the insurance will pay but its a decent move at least it was for us

The specialist I recommend you have is an attorney to properly draft the documents and a title company to facilitate the deal.