Can they prove how long it takes to rent a vacant property?

The returns I've seen as far as cash flow are decent, but what attracted me are the typical long term leases with rent escalations every year.

In the long run, it probably won't save you money unless they truly are ripping you off.  

Last week the landlord mentioned he wanted to sell the townhouse but had another home available that my buddy could move into.

I started long-term rentals last year with a focus on Section 8 properties.

I can send you his contact info, I also met an RE lawyer in Downtown Denver last week, I can send his info as well. 

I imagine DSTs initiated durning 2014-2017 did well, and those created the last 2 years…not so well.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

I have been interested in long-term rentals for some time and looked at fix and flips when I was much younger.  

I live in a very rural area in the northeast and most of the markets within an hour of me are primarily class C and D neighborhoods with reputations for drug and crime problems (as well as my own hometown unfortunately) so I will probably look to long-distance investing as I get started.