Almost every time I had to chase money, it was from an inherited tenant that I didn't screen so screen wisely. 

If they have plenty of money in the bank (enough to cover several months of rent), and good records on paying their rent (always check rental history), again ask for extra security deposit.

I would say read some of the BP books as they cover pretty much all aspects of real estate investing.

The basic goals are:  1)  Cash flow/month to cover monthly bills; 2)  Profit to pay off personal debt.Once these Financial Goals are established, you can then "reverse engineer" your plan from these goals back to your current situation. 

All I do to show proof of funds when making a cash offer is take a screen shot or printout of my online bank account summary, making sure that it shows my name and that the total available balance is higher than my offer. 

Screen , place tenants, and register with the city. 

He's a stand up guy and probably isn't covered up yet like most contractors. 

As long as the appropriate docs are in place with the lender (so you're fully aware of all the terms/conditions of the loan) and you have a verified exit strategy (refinance or sell at a price that would cover the debt), I would go with that option. 

OK I see in another thread your asking about lease options.. and probably sandwich lease options and your lawyer is sizing up your financial ability to execute on your contract when the person you lease to stops paying you which is highly probable.. so that's probably good advice unless you have deep pockets and can cover a mortgage or lease payment for the time it takes to evict have the money to rehab the house once the tenant trash's it and then lease it again.most who try these schemes do it because they lack capital and undercapitalized investors fail most every time.this is what the lawyer is thinking.. how to you get through a default.

This is the same result as if someone bids with enough sum to cover the money due to the bank, but not enough to cover my parents' lien.