If they walk you take them to court for the duration of the vacancy.I would tell them that they may sub let the unit, they and you may both look for replacements, the sub lease applicants must be approved by you.

I would do that, but I'd be nervous to have to pay several mortgages for an extended period of time if rent didn't show for a certain month(s).

They are also more likely to become life long renters and less likely to become home buyers.I believe credit history is more relevant for merchants who extend credit than for landlords who provide housing to renters.

Before now, my plan and vision didn't extend past the point of paying this house off and turning it into a rental.

Ok, so my son has a situation where a lease was up and he went over to deliver a new lease to extend the tenant's term as he appeared to be a good tenant and found an interesting situation.  

We couldn't find anyone in 60 days and had to extend for another 60 days.  

An owner-occuoant loan (FHA, 203K, conventional) is entirely possible if you are willing to extend your stay in the will-be rental for a few months to reach 1 year, as Mike mentioned.

I was supposed to be back in 10 months but I extended a year onto my contract so I will be in the US for a year.

I want to buy several, and I want to finance the purchases, but I have not found any lenders that extend less than $75,000 per purchase.

That same respect needs to be extended to investors who are interested in buying properties from Turnkey companies.