Also credit score 680 with no missed payments over the last 2 years and also check their criminal report just to make sure you know who these tenants are, as the eviction process in New York city is very long and expensive. 

We feel this encourages/trains good payment behavior:)We have several MoveIn Specials owners can approve like, free TV, Washer or Dryer (used), etc.Our main goal with MoveIn Specials is to stand out from our competition. - Just lowering the rent really doesn't do that.

It's not quite as easy as renting out two sides of a duplex, but with the right marketing and management you could rent out the extra unit to supplement the mortgage payment. 

My suggestion would be to select someone with the most forum posts or most reviews.

Getting one property and cashflowing it will be a challenge. you can try seller financing but you are still going to be highly levered which just enhances the risk that you are taking on.The best way to grow is to focus on managing your rental, saving money through your W2 and crushing that - if you are a realtor you will make more crushing it as being a realtor than over leveraging real estate - then save for down payment and buy slowly. its not a rush.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Not a lot of our competitors offer this but it's something we can consider (but for us, it can't be in a rural area, the loan amount must exceed $150k, if we're using PadSplit income (or STR/MTR income) the max LTV is 75% and the down payment must come from your own funds). 

I then modify those numbers based on the buyer's preferred down payment/return hurdles.

If you are in a state where eviction cost is high and it is tenant friendly you may need a higher credit score to offset default risk and eviction cost.If you are in a landlord friendly state where it is easier to get non paying tenants out you may be able to handle more none payment risk.  

Sometimes it's nice to get a new lease so that you can increase the rent right off the bat, but having tenants with a solid payment history is worth so much more to me.