I think there could be some work done on this to model ways to put reserve money to work prudently over time. 

it was vicious.what I liked coming out of this was so many that were bought with cash those folks don't lose houses.. and if someone is buying in this model I personally feel they need at least 10 to 15k in reserves on a hand to sustain a bad tenant run. the negative cash flow folks were CA  NV  AZ FLA  ..

Padslip has that model, it is a kind of the competition for people who do house hacking :PGood Luck in your search and investment. 

If you're doing a hybrid model of STR and MTR, I would suggest just getting a STR policy. 

After having some difficulty finding qualified tenants who could afford the rent, a highly qualified tenant approached me asking to lease one of the houses using an STR arbitrage model. 

Determine your rental model -- sounds like STRs or Airbnb, right?

I have excellent role-models in my own family of first-generation immigrants who have invested in RE decades ago and now enjoy total financial freedom before retirement.

A common rule of thumb is to budget around 1-2% of the property's value annually for maintenance.Management Fees: If you plan to hire a property manager or use a property management service, factor in their fees as part of your operating costs.Contingency Fund: Always include a contingency fund in your budget to account for unexpected expenses or fluctuations in operating costs.Financial Modeling Tools: Consider using financial modeling tools or spreadsheets designed for real estate investment analysis.

But as a business model not such a great venture.

This will depend on the lender and their model (whether they're selling or holding this loan).