I know of no legal issues of "taking over paying a sellers mortgage" where a state would get involved.Find the other BP sub to threads where I outlined how to quiz local RE attorneys/title offices re if they are "investor friendly" "creative deal friendly" and "closing a sale without paying off the mortgage" friendly. 

@Ray Jansma you can do either or, but you must let the prospective tenants know what you are doing so that it is transparent and outlined in your rental criteria, then they can choose whether they want to apply

It passed 8 to 4, and requires all residential rental properties — not just those with four units or less — and family child-care homes built before 1978 to obtain lead-safe certificates.Toledo officials encourage property owners to apply for lead abatement grantSarah ElmsToledo officials encourage property owners to apply for lead abatement grantThe ordinance outlined compliance deadlines phased in by census tract, with the first group to be certified by June 30, 2020, the second by June 30, 2021, and the third by June 30, 2022.

Just remember always use the same carpet brand and color.You can take it a step further with a damage addendum that outlines pricing for anything, including changing locks, painting a wall, servicing an HVAC unit, or cleaning carpet.

The big items I think I need to plan for are as follows, although I haven't filled in the blanks on all of them yet:-Advertising/Marketing-Tenant Screening-Contractor Networking-Legal Considerations (Liability Coverage, Evictions, Collections)-Financing (Handling Rent, Disbursments, Emergency Repair Payment)-Property Management Software (Thanks to the forum, I've found TenantCloud)These are the big items in my outline which, of course, have several sub-bullets.

You might save a few mistakes, but talk to people, get an outline in place, decide what you want and the mistakes will be minimized.

All of the things that are considered habitability issues in CA are very clearly outlined.

You can collect "reasonable" fees in addition to security deposit at the start of the lease. the no refundable fees you might charge would be a cleaning fee, a app processing fee, filing fee, etc. for deposits you'll still have to follow the procedure outlined in the link I mentioned earlier.

Out marketing plan which is outlined later in this plan will be implemented and measured for its effectives.

I suspect a letter from a lawyer which outlines these issues, will prevent them from a foolish action of attacking your credit or suing you.