If you can qualify with your income, DTI and employment history, conventional may offer better terms.

To restate, I wonder if it is feasible to pre-qualify prospects financially and criminally before touring.

Depending on if you qualify for the special allowance for active RE, you may be able to take up to $25k in losses (unless you are full time in real estate and may be able to use real estate professional status). 

Are you aware that a percentage of rent on additional units of MF can be used as income to qualify for the loan? 

Hello allI am trying to buy SFH, probably cost a lot more for what I qualify for.

If there are no boarding house limitation to the number of unrelated persons, does this structuring matter?  

@Mary Lopez I recommend most investors skip multifamily properties that don't qualify for agency (Fannie/Freddie) or HUD financing. 

It took me 5 days to find qualified tenants with good credit score and income but my property manager still charges me full listing fee even though I did the whole listing, marketing and prescreening and they helped with 1 showing - they only showed one tenant who I prescreened through Zillow.

Quick tips…✅ Everyday Homeowners - track all home improvements as you could qualify for energy efficiency home improvement credit - new exterior windows, new central A/C, new hot water heater, new insulation material.✅ Investors - Keep detailed records of ALL rental property expenses to reduce your taxable income - helping your CPA spot additional tax saving opportunities.Imperative to use a CPA who is well versed in Real Estate tax code.My CPA is just that - DM me to get his contact information....

Floor boards were severely charred and inspector worries there could be damage to framing in parts of the house we can’t see (in fact, that side of the house seems to be sagging anyways, which is worrisome).