She's applied for elderly housing in a few towns but in one of them I know the wait list is 1-2 years.

When you get a return you can put your detective hat on and find relatives if you find out they are deceased or elderly At the end of the day you want to reach your audience when at all possible.

This will be especially useful if they decide later to ask permission for another family member to be added to the lease (sibling, nephew, elderly parent, etc) and you have already set the standard that everyone will be need to have a background check.

An elderly lady whose husband had passed had done some sort of seller finance and she ended up foreclosing on the occupant.  

Your elderly parent?

In CA they're called Residential Care Facility for the Elderly and require state licensing. 

One thing to keep in mind is that some potential tenants may not be able to walk up the stairs, if elderly for example.

The neighbor says he made a friendly agreement with the elderly lady that we bought the house from some 30 years ago!

@Grant Rothenburger, I don't think it's necessarily a lack of deals, but that everyone mailing to the same Absentee Owners.Investors in overcrowded markets need to look at alternatives like Seniors who have owned their home for 20+ years or Homeowners with low Financial Stability Scores (FSS).There's even a new list where you can mail to the children of the elderly homeowner - since they are the influencers.

What I mean by this is that lets say you screen a great elderly lady who's on section 8, great at upkeep on your place, never a bother, you get your above market rent on time, no issues from the tenant.