He wants to scale his operations, potentially bringing me on board to do so.

I would love to make some connections and get to know more people who could help me along the way!

Definitely a focus area from lenders, conventional or otherwise - theres been a reported uptick in occupancy fraud or funny business lately as rates and values have continued to be so high and qualifying so tough - people are more likely to bend the rules on stuff like this - so this is generally the lender response

It's in the country so people looking in that area generally want peace and quiet.

Maybe that challenge would make the investing journey seem more "fun" but you are in a position that sooooo many people dream of. 

@Jarrod Patterson  Depends on the reason for the temporary need from a local, also you have to screen financials some of these people may not be viable candidates even if they think they are.   

My advice is to stop listening to the people you overheard. 

People are always wanting to share success stories or failures to help teach someone. 

We were able to get seller credit to help off-set the cost, but now we have heard of some people getting a free roof with the installation of solar.

talk to the dept of health first (records requirements etc), establish what upgrades/maintenance required, line up a reliable repair/handyman/type person, consult lawyer, and then make your offer, see if you can buy the land it's on via lot line adjustment (ideal scenario). a lot to be aware of, such as system upgrades or county code changes bringing in the requirement to add metered connections to an older small system, for just one example.Otherwise- owner doesn't want to manage, I doubt you really do either but could be wrong.