If I were the seller's agent, I'd be looking for a large non-refundable deposit.What the seller's agent is trying to prevent is accepting an offer from what turns out to be an unqualified buyer. 

However, ask the owner if they need help in staying in the house or preventing a record of foreclosure, cash by pre-foreclosure sale, brining notes current etc. 

And supposedly, you can't even pull criminal history until the tenant is otherwise approved, which is intended to prevent "finding" a reason to deny otherwise.

Just placing this in the ad likely prevents some ex-criminals from applying.

Tried to match the stain to the period. 

I admire your persistent in working through all the hurdles that could have prevented you from getting the deal.

It has to be worked at, built like a virtuous habit over time, but I suspect anyone with enough practice can manage to wash away the stain of a monstrous act or two done in their lives from their memories like it had never been there in the first place, and continue to live their lives looking out from behind a face just like the rest of the family of man.

It has many benefits, but it also helps a lot because you only have to work with a single EIN and can use a single bank account with the correct bookkeeping to operate all your investments, to prevent commingling of your finances.

@Joey Biccum there are laws in some states that prevent price gouging during a natural disaster.

They have legislation preventing using multi-family properties as short-term vacation rentals and they have other regulations about parking, noise levels, etc.