The math is fairly easy given your assumptions.

You have to do the math to see if it's worth the effort.

Show the math on paper.

agree with above and...math.

Low and behold, now they want us to put down another $40,000; the seller wants another $5,000 added to EM and seller's agent wants their commission of $4,000.Do the math: 190,000 + 15,000 + 25,000 + 4,000 + 4,000 (our agent) + 40,000 = $278,000 for a fixer upper.

In NY, NJ, CT, PA, MA the security deposit is regulated, as well as how much you can collect at lease signing. 

This is basically a math problem that will depend on both you personal finances & also how much of this is an investment vs you want a nice house to live in4.

You can quickly see why looking at this graph - https://www.visualcapitalist.com/buying-vs-renting-house-in-...You can see how in 2015 the average mortgage was cheaper than the average rent, so it was easier to make the math work with light value add and just buying single family homes.

So basically I got 2.9% return.You are bad at math my friend. 

We avoid lending to folks that don't really have their math/numbers together.