I have one house of very long term tenants. 2 roommates.

I have no desire to have roommates as I had for 6 years.

I hope you fared well with the snowstorm.If I were to just get roommates, would I technically need to obtain a rent permit?

For me, when I got started it was a) access to cheap private capital (family & friends), b) a willingness to house hack and live with roommates, c) location in a city with a cheap real estate inventory, and d) a friend who was also investing and could help me with some contractor contacts.Yours will be different, for example maybe you know a certain area of the city very well and can recognize underpriced MLS properties, or you have the time to send out direct mail and take phone calls, or you have the temperament to knock on doors of potential sellers, or you are very handy and can save money on the rehab, or you have a very long-term investment horizon so you can buy in marginal areas, or you love networking and can convince someone to JV a deal... you get the idea.  

@Mindy Jensen I wish I would have listened to your advice about doing the rehab with roommates, especially with setting proper expectations.

I also like $1500/month net rental income on a property from roommates that mean I can live here free now.

If it is a college area then they might like the 4 bed options spread among roommates.

Maybe adding one more bedroom in the basement and turning the rest into a common area for all roommates would be the best investment.

As such though i planned on targeting duplex properties I will need to focus on houses that are zoned for single homes but have finished basements, in law suites, etc to accommodate more easily setting the home up with room mates. 

It is a roommate situation living, one unit.