Also, cross check the owner of record to make sure they are who they say they are (many people do give a friends number and say they're the landlord)  That's why it's so important to check

well i lived through it.. painful as it was.Gap lending is far to risky for almost anyone end of story.. totally agree.the only time it works is with some decent cross collateral and or you have a substantial relationship with the client and have done LOTS of deals with them for many years. 

Basic recommendations- Deed of Trust-Personal Guarantee-Promissory note-JV agreement (to protect the lender from violating usury laws)-clear late fee schedule, cure period agreement-cross collateral if the subject property doesn't safely cover you with enough equity

In other word, we don't actually have houing affordability problem if folks wanna move to Milwaukee, income is slowly rising there while home price can't catch up LOL,  I surprised also The Milwaukee income earner is crossing 100k based on Fannie Mae data LOL

I can cross-check some listings for you.

The icing on the cake would be to cross collaterlize their note to another property (can do this as many times as you want) and they won't ever pay the taxes.

For the dining furniture in the nicer house, I shelled out and got what seemed to be good stuff but my guests keep breaking the cross bars between the chair legs, staining the cushions, scratching the tabletop, and then just the bolts come loose over time.

I am a big believer in proximity: I have consolidated my portfolio on one side of Milwaukee, even though I can cross the entire city in 45 minutes. 

Finger crossed i made the best decision but time will tell

I can get you up to 75% financing, a US bank account with remote opening, cross borders CPAs who understand CRA and IRS, and more.