It is to the point it is probably annoying to the guest.If you do not have the time or patience (or staff) to verify and deal with fraud or issues, it may not be for you. 

What kind of deal sizes are you working on?

What are you estimating in terms of gross- and net yield on your student rental deal?

It is a moving target and challenging so you aren't the only one dealing with these challenges!

The fact that you’re not seeing positive cash flow for a few years is something to weigh carefully—sometimes a slightly better cash flow deal in a different area might be worth considering.

so if this is your very first deal - i would pass. 

So here is my question, I know a reputable firm that provides this service but how can I set up the 'business partnership' where they are my chosen vendor for this service without my clients trying to go behind my back to deal with them directly, thereby kicking me out the middle.

It's a great opportunity to buy them because you can get a smoking deal....but trying to sell them is incredibly hard right now.

I'm ultimately looking for 5+ unit deals but understand that 99.9% of the deals that come through are going to be SF and Duplexes, and that's okay. 

I have a family member that’s willing to lend money from their HELOC for my next deal to cover rehab costs.