For me that is the main reason for an application fee.

(Less than an ideal choice)4) a hard money lender that you already have a well established relationship with and can confirm he or she will fund before the auction ( weak choice) Any other type of loan that would require an application and approval is a no go.

The ESA is where you typically see fraudulent applications.

I heard that a company will review applicants and recommend approval/rejection based upon policies setup by the landlord.

Actually, the language states that landlords can not use past evictions against applicants again.

It is the incorrect application of that information that can be a major problem.  

What they forget to mention was exactly why these applicants were denied.  

type threads is because no one wants to publicly talk about when they had a loan application denied (thanks for sharing, Zach!). 

I can't see the application in flipping, where liability insurance would be more applicable (when owning the property). 

I don't know if this is applicable to you, but we've found that the yields that are achieved with MHs can be obtained with SFHs in working class neighborhoods in some urban areas.