We make people take photos of themselves holding their ID and then I also meet them in person for the showing - at least for my units on the NW side of Chicago.I've never heard of these testers, but I am not surprised. 

You must work at least 750 hours per year in a qualified RE business.So most people who have high-earning W-2 jobs outside of real estate won't qualify.But the unique thing about RE pro status is that even if you don’t qualify but your spouse does, you can both file jointly and claim the losses from your RE investments to offset your other active income together.It's an incredibly powerful benefit if you do meet the criteria.

Interested to see what people say.

There's no reason to provide details, though I do let people know if anyone asks that we do not accept bulk up-front rent payments or anything like that because I absolutely do not want a prospective tenant to think that someone else swooped in with a bunch of cash last minute.

Quote from @Jesse Yoder: What insurance works with people doing BRRRRs? 

With regulations increasing we've been seeing more and more people who want to invest in STRs start investing in Vacation rentals.

Haggle with them to a maximum 60 day timeline) as you need time to renovate and get it ready for spring/summer market when most peoples leases are up.

Give them a couple of options, they already know the unit got foreclosed, most people move to avoid the hassle. 

I am in talks with a couple people now.

I know this is a slower process than you might like but $3.3M in debt is a lot for most people.