Fannie Mae's guidelines verbatim are as follows:Must be occupied by the borrower for some portion of the yearMust be suitable for year round occupancyBorrower must have exclusive control over the propertyMust not be rental property or a timeshare arrangement (this has the following disclaimer in the guidelines:  If the lender identifies rental income from the property, the loan is eligible for delivery as a second home as long as the income is not used for qualifying purposes, and all other requirements for second homes are met (including the occupancy requirement above).Cannot be subject to any agreements that give a management firm control over the OCCUPANCY of the propertyThis means that as long as you intend to occupy the property some portion of the year, you could absolutely rent it while you are not using it. 

That's where you buy a cheap home for $30k.

$135k (plus the plumbing fix) is too much to spend in a $250k neighborhood no matter how cheap you get the house.

Tenant called and said he had a new washer/dryer delivered and the delivery guy said the cold water valve was corroded and leaking badly. 

So go to school in the most expensive area near you, and commute in from somewhere cheap.

Also add a large TV (75" are cheap nowadays) a bunch of chairs and a bar.

In the last few months several of these new investors have bought into the hype of the huge cashflow to be had buying cheap, crappy houses in crappy neighborhoods in the Midwest.

Their coaching is not cheap, but I think the thing that separates them from the one-time seminar gurus is that they offer a series of classes designed to deepen their student's knowledge so that they end up with a well-rounded education, versus what you can get (and retain) out of a single 3-day fact-filled seminar.

I heard to get the ones with the backing to make for easier DIY install but have heard you don’t want to go too cheap also. 3. 

Golf carts kinda fall into that category of bikes, kayaks and boats.I did a quick search and there are plenty of insurers that offer golf cart liability insurance. https://www.insurance.com/other-insurance/golf-cart-insuranc...It seems to be pretty cheap.