Closing on this home in April is usually a bad situation when trying to fill a student rental property. most leases are signed in October the year before hand.

You don't need credit or cash to do that.If you dont have credit karma, you should sign up, so you can monitor your credit regularly.

Do I need to wait for this to happen before I can sign a contract? 

It feels like I JUST got the contract signed last week!

If I sign a contract, I have the intention of following through with the seller and only bailing out as a last resort.

They have offered to transfer the water bill to their name for the rest of their tenancy and are willing to sign a liability waiver. 

@Alden Zuck did you ever sign up for the program? 

- Easements: In my opinion - these are important when you encounter a landlocked property (which isn't necessarily a common thing, but it does come up from time to time) and/or if your intent is to somehow develop or subdivide the property yourself (which isn't something I typically do, and 95% of the land flippers I know don't get into this in a big way).

The catch is, I just signed a 12 month lease in the Milwaukee area because I was relocated for my job.

Also the current owner may want you to sign a hold harmless clause and possibly have insurance in place just in case someone would get hurt while you are showing the property