That neighbor contacted his attorney, who advised him to speak with me first.

We are going to speak with a lawyer regarding a partnership agreement, a promissory note, season the money, then buy the property with both of us on the title.

I don't speak for BP but yes, you 100% should be using a service. 

Speak with current and past clients.

Tell them you would like to speak directly to the tenant to confirm the work was done with pictures.

@Adam SharpI'll ask my lender next time I speak to her, but I think this where again, using conforming loans for investment gets very "grey." 

@Kendra Elise O'BerryI can't speak to the SC market, but out in my part of California the 2% rule is really unheard of. 

Usually the department that you need to speak with will be called something like loss mitigation. 

Can anyone speak from experience or expertise about what issues I might have by leasing the property to three parties, given I respect the occupancy limit?

@Matt Ruttenberg Generally speaking there are 2 main types of loans for investors: “Conventional” and “Portfolio”Conventional - I'll define these as loans that come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (if you recognize those names).