I've been doing rentals for 40 years, and on a few occasions, have people applying, and given the juxtaposition of circumstances, their stories makes no sense. I had a few of them, rented to some. It appears you got one of those.
A while back, now 30 years, I got a single divorced man applying in his 50's. A polite soft spoken gentlemen who's a door man, who's been with the same employer for over 30 years. Spoke with him, every thing seems fine. But he had to move quick, and says there's a bankruptcy on file.
Normally, with two red flags, it would be automatic disqualifier. But speaking to him, he's so loveable that I decided to give him and chance, and go ahead with the credit check, which at the time ran me $20.00. I never charged application fees, still don't, and figure all I'll lose is $20.00
Checked his credit, had nothing else of file major except the bankruptcy with a $200K unpaid loan. Now, his doorman salary was a few hundred a week plus tips, so who would loan him $200K? He made enough to qualify for the 1BR, so I decided to give him a chance. In fact, he doesn't even own a car. Has a credit card, but never used it, paid everything cash. Was a door man at a fancy Manhattan building, and tips are good, all cash. So what does he need a credit card for, and charge on it.
So I figured he must have expensive tastes. After he moved in, his belongings are sparse. Had a few pieces of furniture. His clothes didn't fill up his closet. So I wondered, what's with this guy. He tells me originally he can't go into the bankruptcy because it's too painful.
He was a good tenant in the sense that if I had to go in, he said, you got the key, just knock on the door and go in any time. Never late on the rent. On a few occasions that I had to go in, while he's gone, a bible would be open on the dining room table where's he's reading it. I got a man reading the Bible every day.
After he's been with me for a while, I found he's the most cooperative tenant I ever ran across. I wanted to remodel his bathroom and asked him when's a good time for him. Said he was planning a trip to see his brother in California, and he'll schedule it around my contractor's schedule.
Finally, when I got to know him, said to me, you must be wondering about my bankruptcy. He explained his son started a trucking company, needed a $200K loan, the loan company required a guarantor. All his son could find to do it was him, a doorman. The loan company officer said "OK, your dad got no assets, earns very little, but we'll do it because if you don't pay, you and your dad would go bankruptcy, and he can't even convince a landlord to rent him a place". Sure enough, a year after the bankruptcy, his landlord had to sell, and he's stuck looking for an apartment.
Lucky for him, he found me, and I decided his story is too strange to be not true.
As to the issue of looking for the previous landlord, New York State has a problem with Zombie homes. owners who abandoned their homes, owing mortgages, back taxes, many of them rentals in LLC's that they cannot find the owners. Do you think they return calls? I don't owe people money or back taxes, and get around 6 spam and robo calls a day, each, on my cell phone, and my home phone. Once I was waiting a call back from my doctor, the phone rang, I picked it up, the caller want to sell me solar panels, and I told him after several minutes, "sorry I'm waiting for a call from my doctor". So it's not unusual that the owner of a foreclosed home will not answer the phone. Why would they.
BTW, I couldn't reach the doorman's landlord as well, for some reason. I seen enough of these flukes that I think you do OK with this tenant.