Then, I realized, if I go out of my way to help their business grow they will take better care of mine!!!! 

He takes care of the property like he owns it.

Or if one of them has a guest over who gets hurt, owns a dog that bites someone, etc  and you are the one who ends up getting sued.I'm a fan of house hacking you just have to make sure you cover your bases.

Well, @Eric Schwake, other than the tax advantages for rentals, collecting a mortgage payment from a borrower is like having a tenant who pays you monthly, doesn't ask to have anything repaired, does not move out and require you to turn over the property,  and keeps really good care of the home (mostly).

We are extra careful in our screening process for this reason.

Instead of "driving for dollars" or "bird dogging" to find deals, what I do is have the DEALS FIND ME.How so?

As long as you are not lying about the income, the IRS won't care that it is not a regular monthly amount.

As soon as I get the paint taken care of, the wood floors are going to need refinishing.

Really you need to make sure you have bills in your name and postage sent to that house and there is not much a lender will do to argue where you live if they ever were to care.

Just be careful that it could subject you to an additional income tax return in each of those states as well if you decide to do that.