If you can get hold of a reliable and honest builder, you will be fine (that does not mean you will not go over budget).Low CapEx, Little Hassle, Quality Tenant, You can manage new construction out of state for the first 5-years, Tenant May Stay longer (because is a brand new house) are few benefits of new construction.You may not be able to get close to the 1% rule though.Goodluck

If my husband and I were to start over again we would buy higher quality assets and not be focused on immediate cash flow and unit count like we were when we started this after exiting a fairly decent sized small business.

(I would not specify how much.)If the property needs a ton of repairs, then even buying it subject to the existing mortgage may not be enough to make this a viable deal.You need more info, and fast!

If a landlord needs to enter a property for an inspection or repair, a two-day notice is required.

If the water would have came back bad we were prepared to replace the pipe but was told this repair would be around $8K. 

There are plenty of investors out there already looking for quality management, just be that. 

And yes, I know people will say "get her in contract if she wants the house and perform repairs" that would be the best scenario except At that point I was completely out of money.

The headache of playing peacemaker between 3-5 unrelated tenants doesn't sound worth the premium management fee; not to mention rent by room generally brings in lower quality tenants which require significant more management.With that said, higher rates are pushing investors toward rent by room simply because it's the only option for cash flow (at least in Denver) which is why I have so many folks reaching out.If you currently have rent by room investments or perhaps you're a PM currently offering rent by room, I'd love to hear your feedback and any advice you may have. 

In this instance I would tell the buyers I wasn’t fixing it as long as there wasn’t some other reason to compel me to do the repairs.

Buy quality, if that means every 2-4 years not annually so be it.