It has not been an easy process for them and has taken a lot longer than the anticipated dates.

I suggest pegging a date, somewhere in Feb..

To restate, I wonder if it is feasible to pre-qualify prospects financially and criminally before touring.

you say they have insurance for their pet,, they need to give you a copy of that and you need to verify with company policy is up to date, give a copy of that to your ins company and let them know your working to have them move out and have given them notice to do just that. 

I use WOW Video Tours for my listings.

Does it begin from the date of the auction, or the date the judge approved the sale.

They missed the promised start date on the project by almost two months causing a cascading failure on dates since it was the roof, there were interior things, other dependencies that we couldn't do until the roof was finished. 

However, when I requested our EIN the letter stated, "Based on the information received from you or your representative, you must file the following forms by the dates shown.

They were required to provide proof in the form of a receipt by a certain date or I would order the cleaning and bill them.  

Consider offering concessions the seller might value, like a quick closing or flexible closing date.