@Janine CovelloWith smaller contractors, probably referrals and references are your best bet. One

@Federico Gutierrez is right with with B class tenants 'generally' take care of your property better than a C or D class tenant.  

If you are a landlord, then you implicity bet on this by purchasing real estate, and that's not a side of history that I'm going to bet on (rents decreasing, that is). 

You do not have a business arrangement and for that reason have no control.You will need to wait a couple of years and then hope to convince him to refinance, do not bet on it though.

@Michelle ReidDuring competitive times like this in real estate, prices in large markets like the greater Boston market spiral out of control because of the formation of investment groups who are more than happy to take a 0-5% return and bet on profits being made primarily on appreciation 3-5yrs down the road.

Maybe other lenders interpret it differently (that last bit) but I wouldn't bet on it. 

Do not bet on appreciation and know that it is a huge challenge to find good tenants there.

It’s much safer to find markets where population is on the incline (even mildly) so that you can safely bet on appreciation at or above the rate of inflation.I see many newbies on BP investing in rust belt states without any concept of inflation adjusted returns.

After all, no one put a gun to our heads and made us buy our rentals in B,C, or D class neighbors.

@Brady Bulmanski - As @Stephen Tonguis mentioned earlier Cozy is your best bet on the screening/collections.