The owner is an older gentleman and has managed this property for years.

Subtract expenses from rent.Rent - expenses = cashflowBased on your numbers $2100 - $1616 ($3232/2) = $484You are likely missing several expenses, but this should help.

We find properties down this way all the time for 200k - 250k, they need 100k and are worth 450k - 500k after.

My question is - if nothing comes up on a background check, but I find court records that tell me something different, can I use those as a reason to deny? 

Search on this forum and you can see the buffer contingency numbers which people how have invested and got burnt come out with and maybe use  a median to calculate based on that:)

I spoke with him yesterday and will see how I can assist with this endeavor. 

As you begin your investing journey I would suggest looking at a good resource like this website to just get a good idea of different areas. https://www.areavibes.com/Its a great resource and starting point

I’d like to send a notification addressing this to my tenants.

Hello Everyone,I am very excited to be part of this forum now that my daughter and I are starting this new journey of investing our money in real estate.

Start by reading the Ultimate Real Estate Investing Guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides/ultimate-real-estate-investing-guide/introduction2.