Nothing is foolproof of course, but having another investor in your market make a suggestion at least gets us on the right foot. 

Hi @Jacob Dalton,Thanks for sharing your situation—it’s clear you’ve put a lot of thought into this decision, and I can understand why you’re concerned given the challenges of being a landlord in Cook County.Screening tenants is definitely a key step, but I agree it’s not foolproof.

It's not foolproof; it doesn't work every time with 100% accuracy.

I'd like to respond to a few things mentioned:The OP: Analysis Paralysis: It isn't "fool proof" but I would encourage you to more clearly identify your investment goals and criteria.

Even that is not foolproof though.

It's not fool-proof, but I think odds of earning 7.5% using a barbell strategy in the average year on your money is 97% likely with very very little effort. 

Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of issues/problems/quirks that old houses have that new houses don't, and an old house can obviously have hidden problems and big repair/maintenance bills too--which is why thorough due diligence is fundamental to REI...but, the point is: a brand new house is not a foolproof solution to repairs/maintenance headaches (and in some cases, a brand new house can be a much bigger gamble than an older house).This is a particularly important lesson for inexperienced investors, who tend to be the most prone to "shiny object syndrome" (the tendency to let nice aesthetics distract from real, underlying issues).

And while nothing is foolproof the most consistent method of finding good vendors is relying on OTHER real estate investors that have worked with those vendors.

It is not foolproof but it can help sometimes the more transparent someone is when vetting them.

But he warned me it's not fool proof, the seller can choose not to sell, and wait me out.