Your responses have confirmed my suspicions and I'm thinking that this is a deal I probably don't want to get into.

Due to low inventory and trying to stir up more opportunities I recently put a few posts on Craigslist for my target market indicating I buy houses for cash.I have gotten several responses and asked them a few questions via email prior to a phone call.SO for those experienced in doing this, what is your approach to vetting people prior to making a trip to their property?

The reason for my confusion could be that I read another thread where it was the Reverse Mortgage Institution who was selling the "Owner"-Occupiers property, and the responses there suggested that was nothing out of the ordinary, since the Institution was already paying out that Owner per their reverse mortgage arrangement, and could continue to do so even if THEY sold the property to another party.

Hey @Michael Seeker Thanks for the forum response, a 2 month lease would be really helpful.

@Rick Pozos thanks for the response I will for sure plan on making it to that meeting.

Understand that not every response was a deal at the moment but after that first call with them, I learned their situation.This is very important because knowing what kind of situation the homeowners are in helps you think about what kind of deals can be made. 

Luckily I didn't and I checked out the listing on auction.com again and one of the bullet points states "This property is reported to be occupied and buyer is responsible for obtaining possession." also " Do not disturb client.

Thanks for the response Edward!

Thanks for the response.

For banking purposes (holding money) I don't think it matters.