If the seller is financing the property for a steady cashflow + interest, wouldn't I be putting them in a bad position if I sell 5yrs in?

Both have steady well paying jobs with good previous landlord and supervisor references but one has great (high 700s) credit and another has horrible credit (550) including a bankruptcy (not sure when) and 3 recent credit checks ping'd in August.

Success is not only about investing right it is about having a solid steady income to finance your investing.

If rent covers the mortgage payments and all expenses on the house, I believe it is worth it to keep it and refinance rather than sell, if you believe that the rent will be steady income.

Agree with @John Thedford, most residential properties will be undervalued anyway with a steady market, since the assessments are based on a value of comparable sales a year old  before they are applied. 2017 values which come out now are from the last quarter sales of 2016.  

I have a good amount of equity and also steady income from multiple properties, but getting equity lines is no easy task.   

We had a property mgt company in Houston that had 10 + value add B/C properties when oil fell from $100 barrel to $50 barrel (a significant local economic shock due to its dependency on oil related jobs) and their occupancy stayed steady at 92% and even tailed up a bit to 93% during that timeframe while class A fell from 95% to mid 80s.

They don't move in 30 days, you place the order with sheriff, but its now winter so its too cold and a blanket-stay is in place until temperatures warm up, 1-2 months delay.

Exterior faucets - in areas where the temperature gets below freezing, look for frost free faucets.

@Cade Ruthardt, most people will qualify for an FHA loan assuming you have okay credit, steady employment, and not too much other debt.First thing you need to do is talk to someone at a local bank and get prequalified.