But if I were to change the formula to apply it to your situation, it would be something like this:  If 24 months or less of gross rent would pay for the house, buy it. 

My question is should I use all the money that I can get pre-approved for or use a formula using expected cashflow along with my income to determine what my buying limit should be?

The formula is:Purchase price (or last appraised price, whichever is newer) x 4 or 6% x millage.

Doesn't seem like a winning formula to me, unless you are subsidizing/buying cash flow and waiting on that appreciation. 

I was wondering though those that do, and have experience with it if there are any formulas you may use?  

I can handle that their fees are more expensive for hosts but I haven’t been able to figure out a formula to adjust my rate accordingly.

Plus, the fees they charge hosts seem more to me and I haven’t mastered the formula of pricing like I have on Airbnb.

My intention is pull some cash out of our market funds and start off by buying a SFH buy and hold property.Absorbing all the information and formulas though it's become pretty obvious to me how difficult it is to meet the 2 (let alone 1) percent rule in the Seattle area.

The best part of this is then being able to increase your save rate since your not paying for your housing.If you haven't read it yet I would also suggest reading "The richest man in Babylon" this has some great formula for saving for investing even when you do not make a lot. 

As you can see in page 3 (bottom right), the inverse relationship between cap rate and price per unit and also on page 4.The formula for Cap Rate = NOI / Price.