I like the idea because it reduces my overhead expenses (no vacancy, no PM), provides cash flow to my partner, and allows me to refinance having a year long lease locked up.Has anyone ever done this? 

Soaps need to be locked up in most states. 

@Ryan Adams  - You really shouldn't lock someone into contract with you if you don't have the ability to fulfill the contract. 

But it comes with getting the deal moving forward and I'm not locked into using the owner finance.

What I call a lock and leave property.

I'm looking to hire a runner to pick up signs, lock boxes, to post vacate and other notices on tenants doors (which can be scary sometimes), and to do a basic interior walk through on our rentals a few times per year.

Definitely doable, unless your $18k is locked up by your employer's plan. 

We are still analyzing markets right now, so are not locked into criteria just yet. 

You can either put a lock on your bedroom and allow your renter to use what you have in the common area or you can move all of your stuff into storage.

It would be one thing if the landlord disclosed that he/she would be placing a surveillance device in a common area for the purposes of security, but I can see why it would bother a tenant (and, quite frankly, the landlord) that one tenant now has surveillance over an area of the premises.