I did consider all the bullet points you listed. 

They also usually are more energy efficient as the water is heated as needed and not heated to store in a tank that might not be used for many hours and tanked heaters typically have heated more water than needed (and this is desired because running out of hot water is a bummer).I do not want an annual maintenance effort as large as descaling a tankless water heater at my rentals.  

. - COCR isn't as applicable with househacking because of my first bullet point & because it doesn't factor in that you're also saving on your personal cost of living. many investors shoot for 10%+ COCR with a traditional rental property that they're not househacking.

Sensi Touch 2 Smart Thermostat with Touchscreen Color Display, Programmable, Wi-Fi, Data Privacy, Mobile App, Easy DIY, Works with Alexa, Energy Star Certified, ST76, C-Wire Required, New for 20234.4 out of 5 stars 167300+ bought in past month$156.62$156.62 List: $209.99$209.99FREE delivery Tue, Jan 9Or fastest delivery Sat, Jan 6Works with AlexaI just looked up lockable smart thermostat. 

This is for the purpose of having a strong foundation that will minimize risk from any “Black Swan” event and will also increase your long term cashflow.When investing in real estate or business in general, one should always look to protecting the downside first before looking at the upside.Just my opinion 🤷‍♂️Regarding your $50,000 budget for turnkey.It will mostly be C or D class which I would advise against.High crime, lot of volatility, unemployed tenants and property management collects rents with a bullet proof vest and shot gun.On paper things look great, in real life they are much different.On the other hand, if you DIY in a markets like Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.You can definitely be into a B class asset for $50,000 purchase and rehab.Wishing you much success

We've never had a rental property before, but we are handy and I do have some time/energy to put into such a thing.We have a house in the Boston metro area that's worth around $900k.

Luckily I dodged a major bullet but will be much more diligent in asking about the septic system in the future.

There's nothing wrong with doing virtual walkthroughs in my opinion IF you already have a relationship built with that broker AND you have a good idea of what you're doing.From a broker's perspective, if I'm spending my time, energy, gas, resources, network, analysis, etc. on a client that is either not making serious offers and/or is spending more quantity vs. quality - then I may be averse to walking every single property.

Alternatively, you could install energy-efficient fixtures and appliances to help keep utility costs down for both units.

And the lack of issues when using VRBO means you save a LOT of time and money...every little issue sucks your time and energy, and energy/time=money.