@Jacob Flaxman, I am not familiar with this market, so take what I have to say as more of a general comment.My first thought is $250k to build a two story, two bed "house" will cost more than $250k. 

Quote from @Vidya Padmanabhan: @David OjoHorror stories...:).

I've come across a lot of land in Brockton where we can develop a 5 story building and it has the potential to fit 24 units in there.  

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on the current market and any success/fail stories in the Phoenix area.

@Myles Berrio welcome to the forums and thanks for sharing your story.

One more tip – people remember stories that trigger their emotions.

Maybe a major news outlet would be interested in covering your story. 

I just rented to someone with a prior eviction on their record Their story lines up with the paperwork I have available (it was more of a dispute with an HOA nosey Nancy, and their former roommate, than a tenant violation of terms - settled on agreement instead of a full eviction, and the problem roommate is no longer in the picture).

If everything else checks out (credit, talked to her employer, background check, etc), I would try to validate the story with the landlord.

A wrinkle in this story, in terms of what is owed, would of course be if you re-rented the property on the 17th, but I would suspect that's not the case.