Just make sure you account for Denver’s higher property taxes, insurance costs, and the ever changing landlord regulations when running your numbers.Feel free to ask more questions about the area or strategies—I’ve helped clients with similar goals and have personally done house hacks and short-term rentals around Boulder and Denver.

While your chances are higher if you have a mentor, your chances will also increase if you execute tips 1-4.

Many sellers will not accept this since they are in second position, and it is very risky since if you default (higher probability for investors with no money and/or no skin in the game), they will most likely be wiped out during a foreclosure.

Never used a DSCR loan in the past and have always understood those rates to be higher by a point or two in most cases. 

Insurance would cover it, I would pay the deductible, and no assets would be lost.If you are in an area like San Diego where people are more likely to sue, a judge is more likely to find you guilty, and the payout is expected to be higher, you may consider an umbrella insurance policy.

Do you see higher vacancies in the winter, and how do you get proactive to help mitigate this? 

If rents rise over the next few years, that could help cover some of the higher payments if interest rates continue to climb.

but working with someone who is local to your market, who can show you their legal documents that they have used, introduce you to a proper title/attorney office for drafting documents...I mean, nothing is foolproof...but that route will have a significantly higher success rate. 

Well, without any kind of significant cash on their end there is going to be a much higher chance of default.

In an ideal world, we'd look to get both, but with today's higher interest rates and rising home values, it seems harder for deals to cash flow.