It'll be our first deal, but we're excited about it and we'd be happy to compare notes.

We don't have a crystal ball to know that a tenant with no prior evictions and a solid job history would suddenly be laid-off and turn to alcohol and stop paying their rent.

I'm big on the numbers so everything I do will be compared to the opportunity cost of having the money in other assets like stocks.

A few days prior to the open house, take an open house postcard and walk 6-8 houses on either side of the house, and the 12 houses across the street. 

A friend of mine has two duplexes there and had no issues finding tenants when the prior ones decided to bounce.

Ex: Credit score 625 or above.Income 2 to 3 times the rentJob verificaton current paycheck for last 4 weeks.Occupancy,, limit occupancy in unit / house ,, the total number of people can't exceed that number.Criminal,, no felonies..Valid Social Security NumberNo CosignersRental verification from previous landlord.No prior evictionsSample list.. separate application for all people in apartment,, combined income must equal the 2 to 3 times the rent.. 

Compare that with the former owner's statement to you.  

@Charlie McClskie, The IRS does not like to see a taxpayer change anytime immediately prior to a sale.  

We discussed this in a prior post but I'm really interested to hear what you have to say if you check those areas out.  

The prior response should give you a thorough view of the options that are available but knowing which one to use depends on your particular situation and how creative you can get.The reason for this is because everyone is in a different situation or tax bracket.