Acceptable to me are Large Medical Bills, Foreclosures From a bad housing market, Unusual Business losses, etc.Credit report will tell you if they have numerous Late Pays or No pays (Charge-offs) then these might not be the right folks for you.Strong Pay Stubs and verifiable good reports from previous landlords might outweigh marginal credit.   

I have an unusual applicant that I am considering, and I would like the input of other investors / landlords. 

Aloha,At this point, in no uncertain terms, via email (and if necessary for notices in your jurisdiction), inform the Tenant that 1) NO, they will not be receiving any credit, AND if they make unapproved deductions from Rent, an eviction notice will immediately follow; 2) Handyman contacted them for scheduling, which they need to work within his availability.

I am not all knowing but have found that Alaska does have some unusual methods for doing things compared to other states.

You just never know.Unfortunately it would be very unusual for them to sell directly to the public. 

(not 100% positive on this yet) We were planning to buy the property with cash, and come back and get a mortgage, but we've got some unusual income sources here in my family, plus I'm not considered a tax resident until after the house purchase, PLUS we just had that 50 basis point jump in interest here (https://apnews.com/article/ecb...) and so the banks here are making it difficult.

So the bank eats the shortfall.In the last decade, it's unusual to see an opening bid below the outstanding balance + fees. 

Were they unusual?

If the tank to bowl gasket was improperly installed, or the tank was not properly secured, you could see cracks of the tank, but very unusual for that new of a toilet.

Contractors don't like doing this type of jobs, because the outcome is uncertain and they may get blamed for collateral damages.