I talked to my CPA and she recommends sending 1099s  to everyone who got paid $600 and more to air on the safe side, but she is my CPA, she charges me per 1099 she sends out, so her opinion to me is bias!  

Purchasing notes are extremely profitable and safe as long as you conduct proper and thorough due diligence - just like with a tax deed. 

The area is neither A or B, in my opinion and is closser to C- or D+.If you kept the rent at $600/door for three doors, and if they were made safe to live in, and if you could have no more than $120,000 invested, it might work.

Took me 7 years to dig myself out and doing well now with very safe 30 year fixed loans.

Reason:  As this is a cash deal, it's a huge part of my savings and overall net worth and want to make sure I'm very 'safe' and protected. 

If they are putting that up as well then it seems relatively safe, assuming the values you have quoted are correct.

IMO Denton, Corinth, Lake Dallas (All north of Lewisville Lake) and then North Fort Worth around Speedway and Alliance Airport are areas that are still affordable and good deals can be found along with a safe bet for continued appreciation.

There are many ways to verify accreditation, many of which do not follow the safe harbor definition precisely.  

@Nicholas Armstrong, that arrangement is called Subject-To (taking title to a property subject to the existing financing), and this is not a cut-and-dry process, it will most definitely involve (if you want to be "safe") getting a RE attorney involved to draft the docs and submit them, and it's risky because most residential mortgages have a clause in them that says a change in title of a property they hold the mortgage on would indicate it changing hands, while their loan hasn't been satisfied, so technically they could call the loan due and demand the entire balance at that point.

Many areas are nice, but there are some areas not so safe.