Outside of the above, a private lender may also be an alternative for you.  

Alternately, use your contracting skills as what you're bringing to the table. 

An alternative is to screen them for good pet ownership (fill out a separate pet application) and charge pet registration fees and pet rent.

The important thing is we now have choices. 

That's an excellent choice for your first property.

But you need to show that you had the intention with some documentation, like a signed lease for the property, newspaper ads, craigslist ads, photos of for rent signs on the property, etc.And unless you do another 1031, by selling the 1 property you'll owe taxes not only on the 1 property sold but also a portion of the gain from the first property relinquished in the 1031.An alternative would be to suggest to the buyer a rent with option to buy or some other mechanism to both show rental income as well as deffer the sale until year(s) down the road.

There are a lot of "accidental" landlords (like myself) who bought in 2005-2007 who now have no choice but to rent out their properties, so you are bound to find someone.

I watched him at that job off and on, and really thought he would make a good worker for us. 2 years of of watching didn't help me make a good choice.  

So, if you want 30 year fixed, owning it in your own name is the only choice.

If your lease says no pets, and you are passionate about that clause (appears you are), and you have appropriate penalties in place, I don't see any issue implementing said penalties.You could also look to give them an alternative do they don't feel backed into a corner.