I am a former firefighter of 25 years with a construction background as well.  

Quick background about me: I have been in Real Estate for about three years (mostly as an agent, have done some wholesaling as well) and was immediately intrigued with the investment side of RE.

I did a background check on them and everything checked out.

However, I feel like there might be a way for me to create value for both me and my mom in this situation.A little background: I don't have a ton of capital to put towards her house without deterring my goal to purchase a 2-3 unit property in Philly.

Have they asked about the deal and your background doing investments?

I have a 15 yr background in account management/outside sales.

"because I want to do a more thorough background check" is not permissible grounds. 

I have a background in Information technology but that doesn't really help in this business. lol

We found the renter this week, he filled out the application, and his back ground check and credit check all came in good.Here are the numbers:Total cost including repairs 77kRent $1750Interest payments to the private money lender until the property gets a long term loan $583Taxes and insurance around $150Maintenance/repairs budgeted $100Vacancy/turnover $150Monthly cash flow $767ROI 767 x 12 / 7000 = 131% per yearMortgage on long term loan for 70k at 5.25% for 20 years $472.ROI with long term mortgage 150% per year.ARV - because it is a pretty unique property it is hard to find comparables, but making some adjustments from other properties in the same area, I would put the value at about 195k as is.Please let me know your questions or comments.

One other tip I used with my last vacancy, create a video walk through showing the exterior and interior and post it on YouTube, I sent it to all the leads asking to view the unit & it helped cut down on the number of tire kickers I got who wanted to walk through the place.As far as assessment, rental history is important, make sure to check with the references provided, I also use Cozy to help with the credit/background check once someone’s preapproved.