Posted elsewhere as well - but worth reading for the research shared & citations posted:  Natalie wrote “It's more a wave on information from someone whose business is defending things in court.”Dunno what a “wave on information” means.

If you mean to enter into a contract and not be able to close unless you can assign it, I would recommend you discuss your business plan with a lawyer who is prepared to defend you. 

You then proceed, based on state time lines, if eviction is required.You should not be concerned with your tenants defending themselves with claims you are not maintaining the property.

Cost to defend yourself is usually more than the security deposit was in the 1st place.

It only lists myself as the named defendant ("owner") - not the PM company, who the tenant had the lease with.

(In other words, my ideal retirement location if I can tolerate the humidity after 20 years in Vegas.)It’s an example of why you’ll see me as a defender of negative cash flow rentals still making sense.This property is about $200/mo negative, but it pays off $1870/mo in mortgage balance. (15 year loan).

Should an audit occur, you need the firm to stand behind and defend you by then delivering the asset detail to support the conclusions. 

So if you structure the move correctly, you can defend your partial exclusion position.

Unfortunately, as you probably know, it still takes time and resources to defend a lawsuit you will win. 

That way, your story is out there and you show the reader that you tried hard to correct it without having to defend a bad review after the fact.