Funny but my lender did not ask me for a lease when I bought an SFR for rental. Of course, that was probably in the “good old days.”
Just wanted to chime in that SFR’s do have their advantages for investment purposes (they are easier to sell, has some advantages for renting, and the people renting a SFR tend to be more stable), you should really consider purchasing a multi-unit, preferably four units. There is maybe a little bit more work to get the property, but your per unit costs can be lowered (for example, buying a $175k SFR has a per unit cost of $175k, but buying a $350k four unit has a per unit cost of $87.5k).
Also, when you are renting your SFR, you are either fully occupied or not. However, you are still on the hook for the mortgage and other expenses for the time it is vacant. For a four unit, maybe one tenant leaves, you still have three others paying and they will still contribute to the expenses of the property, leaving you with a little better cash flow. Also, multi-units can provide cheaper rent to the tenants and on a cost basis have more people available to rent it.
