The area I am looking to purchase the farmland in has several high end tenant prospects, so I don't expect that I'd ever have a difficult time finding a renter.

The cook co taxes keep going up,  and even with the prospect of increasing value,  how fast do you think the property will sell??

We have prospects apply through our website and then we screen them using Amrent, here are our requirements: Michigan: We are looking for 600 min credit score, 3x income, no evictions, no bankruptcy within 5 years, 3x income, limited criminal/collection accounts, and a good rental reference.

To take a theft loss for tax purposes we generally need to have no prospect of recovery, and exhaust all other avenues of collection.Your points are good ones and I always recommend building the paper trail (substantiation) for tax. 

like @Brian Liscio stated, you pretty much advertise your unit wherever you want and the prospects that have section 8 will let you know they have it. they may ask you if you accept section 8. 

I'm bullish on the mid to long term investment prospects for the area given the relative affordability, at least right now, and the projected growth for the area as more and more baby boomers retire here.

Most are more than happy to do this for a prospective client if you're a serious buyer.

But if you're comparing markets with similar underlying incomes and job prospects - say Salt Lake, Columbus, Portland, and Tampa - the one with more births will win in terms of long-term growth.  

Zero communication with prospective tenant leads is needed, and we get plenty of showings.

When you have a unit not 100% ready prospective tenants are not always going to see the property for the potential vs what is available.