The properties also were built in different years and have different layouts etc.

As soon as I get the bills, I set them up to be paid by the proper day.For rent payments, I used to use Intuit Payment Network and loved it ($.50/transaction!)

@Joe Henry, Some of my tenants are uncomfortable with ACH or run into technical difficulties with IPN (Intuit Payment Network) which is what I use. 

We only have a house or two, we say.And just because we got away with not having a professional layout when we got the mortgage for our first rental or even second rental, we think it's okay just to present a mortgage company, bank or hard money lender, just some figures written down on a piece of paper or on an Excel Spread Sheet.

I don't know if this is "right or wrong" but it seems intuitive to me.

I'm very excited to own this new home as it is really well located, and has a great layout with attractive features and good bones overall.The house was owned for the last 40 years by a single owner who is selling as she is no longer to take care of the property as her husband has passed away.

. ;) I manage 50 units and have placed 'good' folks in similar situations and have paid the price...It is highly likely (I believe) that your intuition will turn out to be correct.Of course, it makes sense to weigh risk vs reward based on rent rates/candidate pool/current occupancy/etc...But, if I were a gambling man (I'm not), I'd lay cash that the new tenants are late by month 3 and unable to pay by month 6...

That way they can be absolutely sure they like the property (and it answers most obvious questions) and the layout before contacting me.

Intuit Payment Network: .50 cent for transactions https://ipn.intuit.com/ [Removed]

“I tried the Quicken PM [Rental Property Manager] – it was very busy and very non-intuitive.” – C.B.