They may be under the p false impression that their deposit can count towards the last month of rent.  

She says she talked to a lawyer and my email signature counts as a signature.  

Count your blessings.

I don't want to count on renting it out above market, though.

We occupied each of those homes while flipping, so I know one HML lender that does not count them as real flips.

I would be interested in this as well, so definitely count me in on that

I've done nearly 2.000 private deals (and counting) in my 25+ years specializing in this niche.

If you take the profit from the rent and use it to pay down the mortgage principal on the rental property, would that count as reinvesting in the business (that is, would it avoid taxes)?

You cannot find new homes that start under $350k, not counting the land and all the extras.

I suspect your vacancy rates will be higher based on section 8 C class property.You should not count on refinancing at 4% based on future expectations and would be safer anticipating rates at 6% or more.