Sure, you could always go back to the written lease and say that it's not in writing, but I find that the estoppel forces everyone to put all their cards on the table - both the seller and the tenant - so they won't be able to try any funny business or "revisionist history" after closing.I find that the existing leases (if any) on properties I purchase are not very "tight" - so there is room for interpretation. 

If the 3 late payments were on mortgages, there isn't really a way around that other than waiting until you have a better 12 month payment history. 

Does the LLC need a bit of income/business history? 

You are partially right but the only way I would do it is through a turnkey company that has years of experience and has a good history so that I could not have many travel expenses. 

But seller just sent me a disclosure form, saying there is a history of termites.

I didn't want to give my social security number out, I didn't want my name on their rent roll, I didn't want to show my 1040's to them, I didn't want them pulling my credit history and I didn't want them reporting my address to the credit bureaus.If someone approaches me with an offer to pay for a year in advance, I would consider it as long as they explain to me their reasoning and they agree to let me run a criminal background check.

You can also look at their credit history which will show if they make late payments to other debts (credit cards, loans..).

@Bill Marcotte the purpose of checking one's history is to get an indication of future performance.

Capitol Hill (eastern part) has S.

Any recommendations on software to manage a property for payments, payment history, maintenance requests, etc?