We advertise for rent before we owned with permission of seller.Live in this situation for a couple years, get some experience as a landlord/investor and then you are ready for whatever the next step is.  

I simply get the owners permission to go to work with the option, then if/when I find a buyer, I lock it up for 30 days with a purchase contract.

There are two laws you need to keep in mind when screening tenants: Fair Housing and Fair Credit Reporting Act.You still need an application and tenant permission, but if you are checking the court records directly you actually have less responsibility under the FCRA then you would if you ran through a screener.In terms of credit, there are plenty of companies out there who you can work with to get access to tenant credit reports.

I ended up renting out my old house long-term (which is a waterfront townhouse) after AirBnB cancelled all my bookings without my permission and gave all the down payments back without my permission and then moving into the STR home full-time. 

But being here without permission from the government IS illegal, so don't equate MY situation with YOUR profiting scheme.  

This is why it is so very important for both the Property Manager and the Owners to have a clear contract regarding each other's responsibilities.If it is stated in the contract that the PM must have your permission for any repairs over and above such and such amount, and did not do so in this case, they are responsible!

Is this even permissible by the IRS?

The internet age makes is so difficult to manage his images so they are not used without permission or pay.  

After you get it under contract, get permission to sign those m2m tenants to longer leases, show them your plans for making the building better.If you can execute, then you have a greater then 10 cap deal that is cash flowing and generating real return on your equity.

It sounds really f'ing complicated and really you're buying a business (active) that's real estate (passive) based. 1) Family owned mgmt which means the risk of creatively funneling money around, so keeping an extremely close eye on the books. 2) How do you 'assign depreciation', I didn't know depreciation is a currency but permissive commensurate to real property ownership > def check with tax advisor here 3) Who is determining the valuations/purchase price?