Then, doing again, and again, and again..The strategy is not much different than say, "marrying a rich widow..." 

I have always operated on the understanding that this refers to equal treatment of those who are married, divorced, widowed, single, with children, pregnant.So if you selected an applicant who is single over one who is divorced, it's a violation.If you charged a higher rent for a divorced applicant with 2 children vs a single no children, it's a violation.If you selected a married couple over an unmarried couple, it's a violation.Obviously, most of the time, the decision landlords make are not based on a single reason, often times it's a combination of factors, once you have gone through the process of background checks, employment verification, tenancy history verification, there is still a subjective element on how your interactions with the applicant went...I have personally selected one tenant over another because one followed instructions, and one did not (incomplete application, showed up late during a showing, sent back an application with a camera taken photo of the form in dim light and out of focus etc...), and I have even selected one over anther because one has tattoos every inch of his body, and no I didn't tell the applicant he was turned away for excessive body markings and piercings.Getting back to familial status, if it is a violation to select a married couple over an unmarried couple, and if you tuck "roommates" under the umbrella of unmarried couples, then it may apply, perhaps loosely? 

She is 83 years old and is a widow and could use the help around the house so it was a win-win and a way to begin my real estate investment career.

Lots of older womens first names (widows), vacant by definition is absentee...There you have a rambling summary of how hard it is to reach truly begging you to take their house sellers today.  

Being a widow i could not afford that, so they started foreclosure proceedings cause i could not make the pmts.

A widowed elderly woman who wants to sell her house when she's approved for senior housing will definitely jump on 150K.

My purchase prior to this one was a distressed property from an older widow who was relieved to sell as she could not afford to fix and sell or rent. 

Almost 5 years ago, I was approched by a widow about buying rental properties that she and her husband owned.

That's why 95% of millionaire households in the USA, according the IRS, are either headed up by a married couple or a widow/widower.

With all the repairs there's no way they're getting a mortgage on this place and its heir property that the widow owns with her kids, so she doesn't want to owner finance (trust me, I checked all the boxes to try to make this deal work).