And well I had a few blemishes on my record to say the least that kept me from being able to join. 

In fact with that amount of debt and on time payments they are actually helping your score.As Chris mentioned paying off that much debt with say a personal loan would boost your score up quite a bit, of course this would be more effective if there are no other blemishes on your credit profile.You could take out the personal loan to pay down off the debts and then use a HELOC to pay off the personal loan.  

There are tons of rentals that get rented with small to moderate blemishes and it's not worth the hassle of a security deposit dispute in court for a few hundred dollars when you don't have any documentation to defend yourself.On the other hand... if you purchased a home with a tenant who moved in with scratched trim, holes in the walls, ripped screens and carpets, and torn lino...

Also screen well but be prepared that you aren't going to find a unicorn tenant there. expect 500ish credit, expect smokers, expect some blemishes on their background check.

If there's original wood plank flooring underneath a carpet that's trashed, then a light refinishing can be affordable, even if it's got some blemishes which just contribute to its "character". 

also don't think this mortgagee is in risk of credit being blemished with a DIL  probably not reporting anymore.  

My advice: you should not be upgrading the home, but simply correcting most of the blemishes that most Tenant-buyers will not like.

.• Has one blemish on her record.

I actually help my family & friends and some acquaintances fix blemishes off their credit.

We quickly mud any grooves in the paneling and fix any blemishes.