Having watched many prior co-workers get paid, cash their check at the casino, and promptly deposit it all into a slot machine I can tell you with pretty good certainty that casinos don't have a positive effect on disposable income and good use of the existing income in the area surrounding :)Are there solid local employers OTHER than the casino in a 15-minute drive? 

In a tenant friendly state you have to.BTW, when you list, there's a fair housing law. you cannot deny a sec 8 if they qualify. your standards need to be the same for everyone

I believe it was said in James Bond movie, Casino Royale "It's not about the money, it's about knowing who you can trust".

What would standard down the payment be? 

You have set your standards.

They are grandfathered in, the property was built prior to those standards.

If they are CF positive then they will not cohnt against your DTI but will improve it...that's standard conventional guidelines barring a few exceptions.

One land speculation I bought 4 acres in sonoma County CA ( wine country) in 96 for 27k it was unbuildable at the time ( could not get a septic system on it) Well city grew to us The Graton Casino comes in right across the street and we sold a few years ago for over 2 mil to a land assemblage investment company.

The standard legal procedure, as far as I understand in NC is the landlord must make reasonable effort to re-rent the property (which I will), and any vacant time till new tenants are found must be paid by previous tenants.

We have seen maintenance costs skyrocket over the past 2-3 years and every case is different but here are some general guidelines for reputable (non-crackhead) investor level pricing in our area of operations:Furnace and A/C replacement with lineset for standard 3 bed 1 bath bungalow.