I am in the learning phase currently, with the hopes to attend my first auction soon, whether it be online or in-person at a live auction.

I would give her only a few days (other landlords can weigh in with Best Practice) to move out, clean, sign-off on ending lease mutually, only pay after inspection of property (and utilities, apparently, if you think she's breaking them) is complete and satisfactory.

I was wondering if others commonly request the seller / landlord's tax returns when buy a rental property. if so what is the common practice for this. would it have to go through an attorney to scrub the personal info?

Start practicing appraising properties and/or deals.

@JD Martin - Hello Sir,As one of the knowledgeable Solar Guys on this thread, I would say that watching the DIY stuff on youtube and other places may not be the best way to get a feel for installation practices.

However it seems that some states are very strict about people who assign contracts and often come after them for practicing without a license(Ohio specifically).

Most banks will also require the short sale home to be listed on MLS and process throw their online platform so doing this under the radar is most unlikely. 

Appreciated even more if you own property, practice law in the commonwealth. 

What is your relationship to Online Commercial Mortgage in your signature?

I currently use QB Online but they don't have a job costing feature, only workarounds for now.