It takes longer to lease in-person-and it's expensive.  

On my end, I would never purchase a property that won't produce at lease 1k in net cash flow, and it must be in a desirable area that is expected to appreciate.

@DeBret McGee IIYour best bet is to secure a deal with creative financing, seller financing or meter lease options.

The way to qualify is we use the rental leases and divide that by the proposed mortgage payment to calculate the rental ratio.

If your place is uninhabitable, tenants can end the lease or withhold rent until it’s livable, but I like to keep things friendly by offering a temporary rent reduction or helping them find a short-term solution.

are they on leases or month to month? 

We are mid-term leasing the attached studio to travel nurses. 

So for the upfront costs (e.g. Option Fee, Security Deposit, etc) can you do it with no money out of pocket? Is it advisable to do it with no money out of pocket? If it is what is the workflow to find the funding?

Or, structure it as a lease option that expires in 1 Yr on the new home.

So, if you choose, you could bend your lease to accommodate 2 more kids without having to worry about occupancy issues.