Make sure they have GOOD credit, to show they have a pattern of paying their way.A guarantor (co-signer as some might call it) would help.Can the rent that is supposedly in a savings account be placed into an escrow account so that it does not get spent?

You'll also have the senior obligations to pay, if a deed has been given from foreclosure on the first there is no second mortgage.You're thinking too much, need to get back in the box, lol. :)

Four months in, the bank decided the mortgage would need to be refinanced and they spent the next 5-months going back and forth over how this should be done {one would think this should have been easy}.

Or did you box it in with drywall?

Make sure that the breaker box is current and doesn't have the screw in fuses.Once you have contractors go through and give you an estimate, look at the price breakdown for each repair.

I've spent about that same amount fixing it up and it still needs more work, but it is liveable.

I spent approximatley 1 year learning about real estate investing, meeting with lenders to determine financing options, interviewing contractors, learning accounting skills, setting up a business entity, getting licensed in real estate sales, and developing a business plan.

Box leading up to the first of the month and it's inexpensive.

I'll give you them with the disclaimer I'm currently not a landlord and am simply regurgitating what I've read here at BP and in books I buy.50% rule: At least 50% of your rental income will be spent on expenses.

Going "outside the box" too far is covered up there as well.I didn't say anything about "disclosures" but I see them being a really bid deal to investors who, in my opinion, put way too much stock in thinking a disclosure keeps you out of trouble, it doesn't.