My in laws have tasked me and my wife to find them a suitable rental property.

We have been approached by people regarding the suitability for Vacation Rentals. 

Norada and and Home Union are middle men who will introduce you to providers they think are suitable for your needs and they deserve to be paid for that service.

The original contract has "contingent upon obtaining suitable financing" and I guess the end buyer could back out using that w/0 me writing it in the assignment contract.

Thanks Joe - I get the impression that you have some particular processes for finding deals off the MLS, but have you found that the MLS also yields some suitable properties in these areas?

So, you can have an asset that depreciates or simply deteriorates and still have good cash flow with a suitable NPV.

When you have looked at several deals, listings for suitability,  maybe have a real estate person proofread your numbers or a local club contact, you will be in a better place.

I'm really liking the mix of geographical locations, market influences, and risk levels.This year I'm hoping to find some suitable deals that are maybe even more conservative than those. 

I have all prospective tenants pay for a background check as part of the application process once I feel they may b suitable.

Without knowing your current investing strategy and the numbers on the deal it is hard to say.Get it under contract with the condition of finding financing terms suitable to the buyer.