Even if you are someone who is content with "where they are at" so to speak, paying a real estate focused accountant to stay compliant makes sense too.

Unfortunately, residency doesn't pay much!

@Aaron Bard- plenty of  lenders  offer  DCSR loans ...contact a  few  for  quotes ...also - dont  pay  any  lenders  at the beginning of the process 

Say you do let them move-in as well and they end up smoking inside, you could end up paying a lot to get that smell out.

With an S-corp you are required by the IRS to put yourself on payroll, pay reasonable compensation wage, and provide yourself a W-2 along with all other necessary payroll filings. 

You'll need to plan to pay it off within ~10 years, too.

Or should be make the tenant set that up in their name to pay for it? 

Pay off debt, build your credit, and increase your savings rate. 2.

So my counter-offer was that I would pay them a small down payment, and have a contract saying that I must pay them in full within 18 months.

Germain, part of having a great cleaner, and great reviews as a result, is taking great care of your cleaner, which in addition to paying them well and quickly means also setting them up for success.