Taxes need to be reviewed and not an educated guess, or not what your friend pays for his house.

As we all know inspectors can be your worst enemy, they don't have to be your friend but you want to stay off their immediate radar..Code upgrades are usually only required if you pull permits.. to do upgrades,, but if for instance they do a yearly inspection and find you need GFI outlets in bath and kitchen you'll need to comply and get it taken care of.. along with what else they pick out that needs replacing or repair, once the door is opened up they have the right to write fix it orders until it's in good enough shape to comply with living standards.1. parking for your tenants.. forcing to register cars..

She is friends with the potential tenant that called me that also has the 3 kids I referenced.  

Originally I had a friend renting from me for about 2 years, and there were MANY lessons learned.This time around, I plan on having a required deposit, but not sure how much it should be.  

This sort of thing happen to my friend doing a flip in the Winnetka neighborhood.

@Shara Surabi Beyond the options @Andrew Postell listed, there is the option of a Residential Portfolio Loan.

Make friends increase your circle of influence - Hire a private detective - they are good at finding people (give his a piece of the profits)Check the death notices or search government record for certificates of death, check the obituary for next of kin - contact them. 

Go make friends with them... it will be an excellent step forward.

Here's the kicker - I need to confirm because I also currently have a house that I'm renting in Washington, DC where the rental laws are very different (EXTREMELY tenant friendly).

If you can make friends and get to know people and LIKE people, then you can deploy that relationship in a manner for all to make money.