Try offering a one year lease at $3000, if you are unsure of the advantages of M2M, as a alternative and see what they say.Fact is they are considering moving, when is uncertain, but likely hood is that reducing their rent $200 is only going to cost you money and not change their plans down the road.

The more unusual they act,  the more leery I am.  

(1) That's highly unusual, unless she is short on equity.

@Gilbert Hernandez Business lending is not unusual.

page=legnew0807Why not avoid all the uncertainly and just use a month to month lease?

house under contract with nothing unusual from the bank. 2 months later bank counters offer at 220k WTH???? 

I’ve always been aware of real estate investing as a wealth generation vehicle, but I was always uncertain if it was one within my reach.

Providing a tax return would be highly unusual in my experience. 

Should be, but your language is a bit less than precise* so good to check on the details with a professional (*not at all unusual or surprising as most peopled don't do this every day).

It is not unusual to have negative cash flow for a House Hack since you are not collecting rent for one unit while you live there.