At least that is what it says in my rental agreement that I have guests sign.

If submitted for approval, I determine if I want to allow the pets and inform applicant I charge $25 ADDITIONAL for pets.

same boat as you guys and I just went through this process buying 2 properties (sign unseen).     

Example: I signed a contract on a house in January (cash deal).

If their renewal is long way off, you could do a spot inspection and if you find anything in disarray or that goes against the lease they signed you can order them to rectify and say random spot inspections will be conducted [with a 24 hour notice, of course]. 

Month two we heard everything from he was getting a sign on bonus, collecting a debt, to the check got lost in the mail.

(not so important but if they only require 15% down on a single family home that is usually a good sign that you are working with a flexible lender) Can I change title to my LLC?

Do they typically assign their contracts or double close (if they assign it to you then they would need to provide a contract to you before signing their assignment FYI) What do you have available now?

I'm determined to find a way to get started now but I'm unsure how.I'm in the LA area so the market is very competitive.

Fast forward 3 days later and we still don't have official application or signed lease, but they have sent us an email with extensive questions regarding the lease that have raised the last red flag (including a lot of quotes regarding state laws).