While borrowing for a down payment is risky, increasing your savings will lower your interest rate.

I'll focus on maintaining the property and optimizing rent increases to ensure consistent returns over the years.

However, if you're a W2 high income earner or business owner, I can't imagine it makes any sense to flip houses, mail mass post cards, wholesale, or build lead gen websites with the value of your time being better spent other places (such as learning about real estate and increasing your income through proven means), such as at your 9-5pm or growing your business, and your real estate is a long term process and you don't need "home run" deals to qualify or make it work.

I recognize this is not the sole source of return, but the other sources have their return increase with smaller equity position. 

- The increasing cost of damage repair and potential mold growth

Your returns could be increased if you are willing to rent it by the room to individual students. 

When clients come onboard, that process should be explained in great detail and by signing the PMA, you are agreeing with our standard processes and core values.Far too often that process is never fully explained and/or proper expectations are not set, hence new clients try to tell you how to run your business.

I've found the easiest solution is to have a really strong banking relationship and then they will be able to provide non-standard offerings. 

Then gloat about how much they made on the exit meanwhile dragging the neighborhood property values and increasing crime the entire time.

It might be one of those positive sunk costs to increase the value when financing.