I plead complete ignorance on Vegas, Arizona and Oregon.

Here are your options, dont close, and plead for your ernest money back  (you wont get it) or close and see what it takes to get the order lifted. 

., it looks like you are guilty of being a nice guy. 

So you can see there are a number of scenarios by which he may be guilty of poor planning or just unexpected costs (which happens a lot with fix and flips), but either way would not be behind in payments or owe money.What I think is odd is that he would need such a small amount.

Luckily, I run PM on a close friend's property so I have gotten used to saying "I can't say yes or no because I need to discuss further with the owner" and when the answer is "no" to the tenant's request, I feel less guilty in the conversation. 

Late rent gets an eviction notice and  when they contact the PM to make arrangements or plead their case we schedule an inspection.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever been guilty of PWI (Posting While Intoxicated) in the BiggerPockets forums?

 Even if by the letter of the law stealing something over $500 is a felony, I can't believe they couldn't plead down to some misdemeanor.  

We're also guilty of being free & clear (20+ years), 'dead equity' abounds.

If you have a down payment and monthly payments going toward the pay down of a property you have essentially created a mortgage and unless you are a mortgage broker and have qualified the tenant buyer looking at all of their financials as a bank would in order to extend them a loan you may be accused of being a predatory lender which, if found guilty, can come with very high fines or worse.3.