Find a good lender, get pre approved, make sure you practice running the #'s using the 100's of videos and guides from BP, find an investor friendly Realtor, and then start making offers on any property that meets your goal.

Who is obligated to make the payments.

That is because practically all motivated sller leads are people in the process of being forced to sell a home due to legal pressure.

We have helped a ton of clients with the process here in Chicago..just be sure to find a team (Agent, Lender, HUD Consultant, and General Contractor) that has done these renovation loans in the past!

If you purchase the house, though, why would the former owner have any say in those decisions?

Quote from @Maranda Tucker:  We relied too heavily on AppFolio's screening process, which doesn't update with our county's records fast enough. 

If you used them to purchase another rental/ use for another business endeavor...the process starts over. 

But at the local commercial level, you’ll have a more in depth underwriting review process  

If so, I’d love to hear what types of questions you include in the form.Do you focus on the condition of the property, the move-out process, or any other aspects of the tenant experience?

You also need to make sure that the Qualified Intermediary has regulatory oversight.