There are rules and situations unique to each state and that is why you want to go with a local lender vice someone just reaching out to you telling you they can do it. 2) Better recourse if the lender screws something up: a local lender has more skin in the game so to speak as if they screw something up their name will be mud to local real estate agents in the deal.

Here’s the situation (personal details removed):The tenant reached out explaining that they’re going through financial difficulties due to an ongoing divorce and lack of child support.

Hey @Dan ErmolovichSorry to hear you’re facing this challenge...evictions are one of the tougher aspects of real estate investing, and being out of state adds to the difficulty.

If so how difficult is that?

If you want to be taken seriously I'd start saving for your first investment opportunity, maybe pick up OT or a second job to show you have skin in the game.

All 3 are low due to the low vacancy, but evictions are also low due to the difficulty in performing evictions

So you will need to have skin in the game.

I think what most clients have difficulty understanding in the beginning is the difference between interest rate arbitrage (which the income snowball is not) and what a cash flow momentum strategy is. 

It Could help your offer though if the seller thinks he might have difficulty in identifying his replacement property within 45 days (he has 180 days to actually close on it) And it’s okay with you....you could offer to delay your closing for up to 30 days or so, to help him have more time in identifying his replacement property.  

I had tenants that stopped paying rent for 2 years in NY during the pandemic and we couldn't kick them out, i've had tenants move out and leave someone squatting and NY made it impossible to evict them so I had to pay them off, i've had tenants destroy their apartments before they moved out (maggots in the fridge, flushing their kids toys down the toilet etc) so i've dealt with real difficulty.