When we were stationed in Arizona, I hand wrote letters and mailed them to people who had just received a NOD (notice of default). 

As for the property owners, I doubt they will care that much one way or the other; letting someone buy a house like that already assumes a reasonably high rate of default.

those land trust I never did quite get the reason to use those other than circumvent the due on sale.. which I think if the bank figures out there is a change of ownership they can do it anyway.but it sounds like you might have a scammer as the owner / seller... and the middle man you used probably has no clue.. but if its not big money.. just rent the thing out until you get enough money to get even.. you could even just default and see what happens.. at that point someone will do something.

In my initial calculations, I just used the default mortgage calculator that Google provided, which was at 3.92% over 15y, but I imagine the circumstances are a little different and will require something beyond a traditional mortgage.

If this was me I would question my agent and escrow patiently but carefully because I would wonder why they seem agnostic about an element in the contract which is required to close but doesn't specify an amount.I prefer to agree initially to a default holdback amount (an amount that favors the buyer in order to motivate the seller to perform) should the seller not specify a finalized rent schedule and amount within 24 hours of closing.Just my personal experience, I'm not an attorney nor providing legal advice.

However, per recent conversation with our trusted RE attorney, we were informed that what's called a 'residential installation contract' let's us get around the trouble in the hopefully not likely event that there was default on payment. 

@Michael Laniak My wife tells me that Texas law says that if someone defaults on their car loan they will take whats owed out of their taxes.

I would suggest sticking to houses with some sort of perceived motivation, tax default or physical distress on the property.

Sales commissions are where the money is at & by default it will propel the size of your PM business.So all that said your 1st hire should be an administrative assistant.

Check out Cozy.co, they offer free online rent payment and will help you collect rental application and tenant screening that might make things a bit easier.must use guide for screening guide below (definitely do the background/credit checks, and call all prior landlords to check if they pay on time)https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/2...Here is your inspection checklist for what they require during inspection:https://dcra.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcra/publication/attachments/BBL_post_licensure_BBL_checklist_v1.8.pdfunofficial guide to renting out your DC home from Urbanturf:https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/step_by_ste...Hit me up if you have any other questions on becoming a landlord!