Is there a maximum you'd spend on one single-family home?

[Joshua Forde]

I've been reading a lot to prepare for eventually buying my first single-family home and renting it out.

In my area (50k population mostly-blue-collar city with a sizeable college population, ~$40k median income), most of the houses I'm seeing are around $200k.  But my concern (going by the 1% rule) is that $2,000/month seems pretty steep for rent.  If a person can afford $2,000/month in rent, I'd assume most would just buy their own house instead of renting.

So I'm here to ask: is it common to find renters who are really going to pay that much?  Or would it be wise to limit my search to $100k houses instead, the idea being that a $1,000/month renter would be easier to find than a $2,000/month renter?

Most rentals I see in my area (on craigslist and Zillow) are around $700-900/month, which is part of my concern.  The majority are apartments, though.  That makes me wonder whether 1. the area is more suited toward cheaper rentals, or 2. there really are families out there renting $2k/month homes and the reason I'm not seeing them is because they're long-term renters (and thus the vacancies are rarely being listed).

[Joshua Janus]

Have you looked into multi family properties? What are the price ranges for 2-4 units?