Financial independence requires an income that enables you to maintain your standard of living throughout your life.

focus more on the  quality of collateral you own and your leverage against that collateral as opposed to amount of mortgage debt.

He had a strong portfolio with solid cash flow, but the big banks just couldn't see past their standard debt to income calculations.What finally worked for him was connecting with a local community bank that actually took the time to understand his overall financial health.

They want quality work , cheap price and done quick . 

Under property management costs, usually just the standard 10% of monthly rent is often referenced but the lease renewal costs & tenant replacements costs are not mentioned quite as often.

That doesn't mean they are wrong, but each place is different, especially with higher-quality hosts and marketing efforts. 

In your situation, it sounds like the primary focus for you is more a quality of life play (reducing your commute time), and the STR may allow you to break even cash flow wise? 

If you don't have a unit open to cycle each tenant through while you renovate them, you don't have an option because things will keep breaking when occupied and you will be getting less and less rent and no profit for years.You are right Jonathan, we just started out and like you said technically it should probably not be called a "deal" to the standard of a wholesale investor.We are just putting our first step forward.

Is it just not my worry what their income is since the voucher covers the rent, or is my concern that if they only have about $950/month then they won’t properly be able to maintain their pets and their standard of living valid?

There "may" be a policy form out there that doesn't require this, but all the ones I've ever seen follow these standard insurance principals.