Pro Tip: Ask an insurance agent what your rate will be before you make that offer.

I suspect there could be some truth behind Melanies claims based on that thread..

To improve your approval chances, use rental income from your first property, consider co-signers, and explore lenders that use Income-Based Repayment (IBR) for student loans.

And if you base an offer price on that, you'll likely have an extremely difficult time getting any traction. 

These markets offer a great mix of affordability, strong rental demand, and steady appreciation.

Are you both friends and have unique skill sets and are breaking up the duties of investing based on those skills?

@Vincent WeselakIt’s a good idea to get an estimate for your insurance costs upfront since this can vary based on the property type and location, and it’s a key factor in evaluating your cash flow. 

Meanwhile, the sellers who are most likely to offer creative financing are normally the owners of  real estate that have issues.....condition.....low barrier/over supply market......or perhaps pricing issue, and one of these factors is why its not marketable in a arms length transaction and why creative financing would be accepted.

Have invested in ABQ with first purchase in 2020 - and that was based on my knowledge as a film/TV friendly area and affordability.

ABL, which is the basis for HML/fix and flip lending, will have different criteria and different focuses than multi-year loans based on cashflow and borrower credit score (long term mortgages).