Many great tenants would not even consider signing a 2-year lease, so you may be missing out of some of the market.From our rental criteria:FINANCIAL/CREDIT HISTORY1.No outstanding debt to previous rental property owners.2.No outstanding debt to utility companies.3.No outstanding debt in excess of $1000 that is not in a payment plan.4.No excessive monthly financial obligations - more than 20% of income.5.Lack of credit history or marginal credit history may result in additional security deposit. 6.Derogatory credit (past due accounts, collections, charge off accounts, tax liens, judgements in excess of $1000 and/or bankruptcy) may result in additional security deposit or denial.

With the cost of the house, rehab and their own margin, there is rarely any equity left to pass on to the investor.

The only thing that scares me about this property is that margins are thin about 3k per year so anything that I missed may make this deal less desirable.

The margins for error seem slim on that, and you are essentially buying it for more than that.If opportunity is going to come to you at an inconvenient time for you, then it better be worth it. 

I realize that some money is better than no money, but that leaves tighter margins if something else comes up, market changes, etc.

From my experience: when I purchase in bulk I always want a deep discount, however if I’m buying one item I understand that the margins are not high enough for a deep discount.

In my experience though, those margins aren't as big as people tend to want to believe.Hope that helps.

When you subtract the costs your margin is what is left over.Almost all sites so long there are bidders on line they do not end auction.PS: This is purchase with cash.

The first through the door blazed a path but set the market on price and saw increased higher margins but as the industry matured and more and more people entered the space competition is became rampant, production efficiency increased and price competition is now prevalent. 

Margins are very slim.