I would let them know that you are the owner/property manager but establish clear boundaries with them. 

This does 2 things, educates you and establish a relationship with a lending institution.  

nice location, 1/2 mile from a well established town 30 min from the the capital raleigh. house going for 13k plus back taxes of 3k.built in 1901 remodeled in 1945, 879 sqf 1 bed 1 bath. needs total gut remodel and major system upgrade. the issue is they have tenets in the house now, family of four, dad cant work bc of heart conditions. unsure of moms employment. landlord says they have been paying rent, but I have no hard records of that.  

If history is a guide, the nicer, established locations close to city center will command a rent premium.

I was willing to possibly looking at their bank statements in order to establish a trend.

It would be ideal if we can purchase well-established vacation homes on market.

I could see that, but once you have a relationship established with a contractor is more where I was coming from.

Currently, I'm looking to establish relationships with some lenders in Oklahoma.

Great if you're experienced in the area, not so much when you have no leads.Quick income isn't a big issue, even without my wifes income, I have savings to support us for about 12-18 months with NO income (saved pretty religiously when working in the UK and did fairly well for myself), so I have time to build a brand, but don't know if I should team up initially to get established with deals in the USA and settled in the area.Thoughts?

The area in and around lower Ski Mountain Road consists of 40.6 acres and 61 platted lots, while the East Parkway at Newman Road area contains 26 acres and 29 platted lots.In March, the first urban renewal and redevelopment zone in Gatlinburg was officially established.