They might qualify for 3x or 40x the rent but might also have 500k in debt that eat away at that lovely 40x number that you just looked over.

You can not eat candy right before a blood test and expect a favorable result.

I would eat the cost. 

Insurance eats about 45% of our monthly assessment.Florida condo associations are highly regulated compared to most states.  

Now I've also had some amazing guest, from a skateboarding granny who did real estate law for 50 years, a professional computer hacker, and 2 awesome girls who just wanted to hangout drink wine and eat pizza.

That's a lot better than sitting around with 2m in cash trying to find an investment while the payments eat away at your money.

It also eats up a great deal of time.

I have 5 acres, which is not enough to qualify, so now I eat an extra $3,000/year in perpetuity.

I am curious if they are just lacking supply or if students just eat up large chunks of demand. 

Otherwise you have to eat the lost.