Local to me many of the properties that look vacant from the street are actually drug labs.

Otherwise, you may look like you're justifying the value of a drug dealer to an addict. 

However, many brokers issue CDAs, as Fred mentioned, which alleviates the reposrting responsibility (in their opinion) because the funds never passed through their account to report, since we issue a check payable to the agent, per the brokers instructions.

Contingencies on a purchase are pretty much non-starters in a hot market but these other two options might help alleviate some the 45 day angst.Also, remember that you do not have to stay with the same type or price range of real estate.  

A 7 cap is absurdly low for Lansingburgh, that area is one of the sketchiest in the capital region, half the houses are boarded up, theres a TON of rental inventory on the market because even low income renters are fleeing the drug violence.  

@Jake Peterson @Brandon Turner has a couple good recommendations for deciding if you're in a good location in his book "The book on rental property investing"... he gives a few different tools to search withCrime stats - www.crimereports.com Schools - www.greatschools.orgjobs versus unemployment - he said he uses www.city-data.com drug use in the area the overall look of the neighborhood done by just driving around

Faithfully submitted quarterly they alleviate surprises at year end.

In contrast, we had someone break into the washers and dryers on numerous occasions, a drug dealer, a pot smoker, a gal who had boa constrictors, and more issues in a month than my 9 SFRs had in a YEAR. 

This may alleviate some of her fears. 

They arrested her a month ago for drug charges and now she is out on pretrial release to her parents.