You should first determine what is most important to you (tax treatment, hold period, cash flow etc.), as this is a personal preference and may differ depending on the individual.

If he is collecting cash payments with no lease, it's likely he's renting to the first convict or drug dealer with cash in hand.

being a foreigner is he should study Portfolio interest treatment for foreign investors there is ZERO tax withheld on that income if done right.. 

It has a few nice neighborhoods, just like Lowell, but the rest is drug infested with homeless people sleeping in parks, just like Lowell. 

Or do it yourself.But, if he cuts the entire lawn for free for an indefinite amount of time, at some point he's going to expect reciprocal "special" treatment from you. 

@Wes BlackwellIt will be spent on drugs, alcohol and big screen TV’s.

But consider this: if an alcoholic was sobering up and not feeling well as a result, would you give him a round of shots to make him feel better in the immediate or encourage him to fight the feelings of withdrawal and enter treatment?

Also, with about 14% total annual returns, i believe us stocks and reits have delivered better tax treatments and better risk adjusted returns for the past 10 years than remote direct re investments which carry high execution risks, poor diversification and liquidity.  

Under each unit we directed the drain lines to a single septic system that could handle all the houses plus we installed a water treatment system for the whole complex, complex because we fenced the whole project, build in a park like setting with one main parking lot with covered parking.

---------RENTAL CRITERIAGENERAL REQUIREMENTS1.Each adult (18 years or older) must complete an application to rent and background check authorization form.2.Each applicant must provide a valid government issued picture ID at time of application. 3.Each applicant must qualify individually or together with a co-applicant as a household. 4.An application fee of$40 per application must be paid prior to processing the application.5.Occupancy is based on the number of bedrooms per unit.Maximum occupancy is two persons per bedroom.6.No Pets - no pets allowed on the premises.7.No Smoking - no smoking allowed on the premises.We will not rent to smokers.8.No Drugs - no illegal drugs are allowed on the premises.We will not rent to illegal drug users.9.No Firearms - firearms are not allowed openly on the premises.If a firearm is owned, it must be safely stored.10.We conduct full background checks.