As always, consulting an attorney may reveal more options.

Question 1 intended to uncover any attachment to the house.Question 2 should get her thinking about some of the nasty things that happen to houses either by weather, neglect or vandals and squatters.Question 3 is intended to reach into the depths of her mind to reveal her thoughts about the future plans for the property and if it's a burden, etc.

Since you want to do buy-and-hold, listen to my podcast interview as I reveal my worst investing mistake (I bought a 36-unit apartment building) and how I turned it around (by buying a 100+ unit apartment complex!).

You can learn from my "mentoring" as I reveal what happens in my real estate business every week here:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/121707-real-life-of-a-real-estate-investorYou can also listen to all the podcasts.

Since you want to do buy-and-hold, listen to my podcast interview as I reveal my worst investing mistake (I bought a 36-unit apartment building) and how I turned it around (by buying a 100+ unit apartment complex!).

Inspections will obviously reveal the truth.

No need to call the employer; they are unlikely to reveal such information.Also, remind the tenant that in the event he changes his contact information, he needs to notify you right away.

I've funded loans on properties with damaged siding as well it just depends on what the appraiser mentions on that appraisal report or if the underwriter somehow gets a hold of your inspection report through unscrupulous means and its revealed there are issues with the siding.

Inspections revealed that two of the properties needed a new roof, and one would need sewer work at a cost of between $10 – $20k. 

This goes hand in hand with finding your ultimate buyer - if you shop the deal around and find that your buyers don't like it at that price, that's when you go back and say "our inspection revealed more issues than we were aware of", etc.Last - you don't give the seller the earnest money.