@Mark BeneventoYou cannot legally accept prepaid rent in NJ.Google "NJ prepaid rent"+1 on what @Roy N. said!

In a perfect world, accepting prepaid or advance rent would be an advantage, but there are many dangers and pitfalls which should be considered before the decision is made to accept prepaid rent.

Do you want to pay points (prepaid interest) just to obtain the lowest rate up front? 

then don't close the loan... dail for dollars but pre paids are part of most of these deals.

When providing tenants with a Certificate of Rent paid, should I include this prepaid rent?  

Can be prepaid anytime without penalty.And here are the numbers for a single family house in Tampa, 3 bedroom, 2 bathrooms:Purchase price: 140,000 USD Down payment : 40,000 USDMortgage: 100,000 USDClosing fees: 7,000 USDRental income: 1350/month Maintenance + tax: 450/ monthMortgage: 600/ monthProperty management : 112.5 /monthCashflow: 187.5 USD/ Month => 2250 USD / YearCash on Cash Return: 4.78% (2,250/47,000)Considering that we are using levarage here I would expect a higher return.

On a typical deal, if you pick up a property (let's use round numbers) for $100K and it needs $50K in rehab (that's probably the max you'll get financed but we'll go there) with an ARV of $250K, you're going to need 10K, plus closing costs or about another $10K (estimate including prepaids, title and if you pay 4 points).  

Also, in regards to escrow I always use at least 3 Months on HOI and 6 Months for  Taxes Pre Paids - This depends on the timing of the year.Let me know if you have any questions.Regards,Joe Scorese

Check your state landlord tenant law.Late rent is late rent, past payments are past payments, who cares if she prepaid when her rent was late it was late, partial payment is not full rent.Right to enter is normally 24 hour notice unless a maintenance issue presented.

If you're putting that little down, you'll need more cash to close in the way of pre-paid insurance and tax reserves.