Is this standard or common practice?

Agents not having the experience in our field, combined with not having the oversight of professionals held to higher ethical standards (CPMs, GRIs, RMPs, MPMs), will most likely not have your best interest in mind but only that ultimate commission.

The strategy is best described in Joel Greenblatt's fantastic book, and an outstanding practical guide and tool for executing it can be found over at the Magic Diligence website.You can do either (or both) of those using the "leverage" of Options, allowing for substantial upside potential compared to standard stock purchases, with dramatically reduced downside (if you want a no-hype education on Options, Erik Kobayashi-Solomon's book is great).Those with the patience and inclination can indeed use Option trading to make money in any market condition (Wikipedia founder Jimbo Wales, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and "Black Swan" author Nassim Taleb all spent time -- and made lots and lots of money -- as options traders in their careers).For even more leverage, you could of course do any of the above (and much more) on margin (meaning your brokerage lends you money to do the investment), though that's not something I would ever do personally.Also, if you focus on holding stocks (or options) for at least a year, you benefit from favorable tax treatment of the profits.

You want to make sure the people that you rent to will take care of your property and will be able and willing to pay their rent each and every month on time.You can set your own standards with the back ground check company regarding each area such as requiring income of 3x monthly rent, requiring a certain credit score, etc.

You can lend to an LLC and not worry about Dodd Frank as business to business lending is exempt from Dodd Frank compliance however be careful because the borrower already informed you that they are planning to live in the house (walk like a duck is a duck caution).By the way realtor forms have Seller Financing standard addendum to the contract which is pretty clear on the compliance terms. 

Can you reach out to the caretaker's company and ask what the standard practice is for their other clients?  

Moving on...There are a few strategies at play here:Using a standard, forward 1031 exchange.Buying properties that need work (BRRR with or without the refi, utilized to achieve a higher return).Partnering with someone who can get a loan when you can't (to bring deals into grasp that were previously out of grasp).The question is, can we combine the 3?

Is this standard?

For earnest money, whats your standard percent of the sales price

I don't want to wait a year to acquire my next property through standard financing, but don't feel comfortable structuring a complex financing deal yet.Any advice?