Aside from that, we are looking for a few things that we as out-of-state landlords can do to keep them in place.Here are the two ideas I have to start:1) Holiday cards.

The current owner seems relaxed and would rather let a unit sit to find the “right” tenant.

Day notice served, they you start counting days including weekends and holidays?

Account Closed - very inspiring and timely with the holiday season here!

I am by no means a tax accountant, specialist, and I did not stay at Holiday Inn, and you should certainly meet with a CPA to confirm; however, from what I've read / heard from several of the biggerpockets resource books and podcasts, an S Corp allows you to avoid paying a portion of the employer-related taxes and allows your money to be taxed at a lower rate.  

I would not recommend relaxing your qualifications. 

“January appears to have delivered a perfect economic storm of sorts, with some consumers focused on paying off holiday credit card bills, others concerned about the recent bump in mortgage rates and still others that may have felt the squeeze from the partial government shutdown,” said HAR Chair Shannon Cobb Evans with Heritage Texas Properties.

Happy holidays.

Happy Holidays BP!

You may want to ask them to get renter's insurance too, and check with your current homeowner policy as well.Seeing as it's around the holidays... it's likely you may not find a renter until the new year.