Again, this is usually taken directly from the owner's pro forma (and weighted against the comps, if there are any).

I have read that having a separate pet deposit causes potential problems when identifying future damages.Pet rent by weight0-20 lbs $20.0020-60 lbs $25.0060+ $30.00If the dog is a puppy, $40.00 for the first three months and then $25 after that regardless of the weight of the dog.Looking for some feedback about the reasonableness of these fees!

Let them take the next 6 months  trying to sell it through three or four price reductions 

The dryers had a coin slot, but the washers took more money and had a coin slide device.Someone figured out early that year that if you put quarters in every slot of the coin slide and pushed the coins halfway in, just short of the point when the coins fell through the slots in the device, and then put all your weight on the slide and physically yanked the slide out again, the washer would turn on and you would get a free cycle without paying.

However I would also like to explore what would be the right steps to go if we decide not to house hack and still get into multi-family properties.save up enough from the reduction of our bills to put a down payment ?

On the MLS look for cheap properties, those with price reductions, and those that have been listed for sale for a long time.

How much weight should I give to timing the purchase around the students? 

As bad as this sounds from a moral perspective, if they want you to be nice to this tenant, you can take advantage of that in the form of a price reduction.

Amazon affiliate lists the home for sale.Through the affiliate for a non-negotiable price but with a price reduction schedule that can also talk to their automated valuation model for continuous improvement.

A good one is worth her weight in gold!