Assuming, you aren't in some insanely hot market where rentals are leasing up that fast. 

To answer your question-Buy a house on contract-Get seller financingI looked into these a bunch and usually the terms aren't going to be in your favor at all and you need to trust the seller which is super risky.

So, you're going to have a lot more headache tenants, and you aren't going to make that much off their low rents, since demand is so low.

One of the things that I'm struggling with is getting a sense of the quantity of housing supply that's available in the area to students who live off campus.

@Lucero Sanchez You can take your plans to a lumber yard and they'll be able to do what they refer to as a "takeoff" to get the quantities of lumber you need to buy.  

I'm reading between the lines here (and correct me if I'm wrong), but I'm guessing your suggestion in using the Purchase and Sales agreement and opening escrow with 3%, has to do with a finance clause within most P&S agreements, allowing the buyer to get back all earnest money in the event that they aren't able to obtain financing before the close date occurs on the P&S agreement - is this correct?

In my county, I have to physically go to the Assessor's office to get it because the records aren't available online. 

Not to say there aren't some jurisdictions or isolated incidents that could be different, but that could happen in any state. 

Anyone still in business has learned their lesson and they aren't foreclosing in my opinion, unless they have the ability to document to the satisfaction of the courts that they do.

Most are pre foreclosure but a couple aren't.