@Caleb Anderson I don’t think a two year lease is too long but I would go any longer - you want to be able to raise the rent on them if taxes increase in your area - have an attorney review your lease and make sure you are taking advantage of your states property code as it relates to landlords - each state is different - we have a lease break provision written into our leases - also a good real estate rental agent in your area can be worth their weight in gold - they will find better tenants (screen them all) and quickly put your house back on the market in instances like this

I am looking for some advice/thoughts from others on the tenant screening/background check for such a situation as I know many people do this.

Posted from my phone

PM now will not awnser phone calls or return emails.

Depends on time of year, how much you list the rental for, how thoroughly you screen your tenants.

Not sure of the inside condition of these properties but there are definitely deals to be had around town if you're networked correctly.I'd love to get on the phone with you and discuss your strategy and try to be your resource for real estate investing in Nashville.I'll DM you.

Any suggestions as to how to find a phone number for a distressed home owner?  

If you have any particular properties in mind, please PM me and I'll send my phone & email info so that we can discuss and figure out which ones make most sense to go see when I get there.Best Regards,Dave

Renters are screened by the government and lose their section 8 status if they tear up properties and they don't want to lose the benefit of the government paying most or all of their rent. 

Hopefully questions like that and extra screening will mitigate some of this.For context, my wife and I just moved into our first househack.