The key is to understand the capital stack, who is in line in front of you and what are their terms.The people who are getting burned may have known there was debt in front of them, but did they know it was short term or variable - did they know all the details to make a good judgment on the investment.If a property had 20 year fixed debt at 70% would you take that over 3 year debt on a variable rate at 50%? 

I definitely am leaning toward the first application being the one for me, and I appreciate the advice to make sure it is a good tenant in addition to just being a flesh and bones human who (might) pay me the rent on time.One of the advices I read above was to be a bit less discerning perhaps and get someone in the door for 6 months at a reduced rate, and then find my golden tenant in the summer.

In addition, you will not be relying on the legislature to continue to protect safe unpermitted units.  

Additionally, I don't have the time to sift through all the legal jargon and pinpoint where they’ve breached the contract, so it's worth having a lawyer review it in my situation.

That said, there are some things to consider....The reason the other people on this thread were talking about a lease is because of your debt to income ratio.

Additionally, are there any other methods, approaches or strategies you’d suggest for someone just starting out in this space?

And now another 1k of principal paydown per year on the 100k additional money in the new loan.

In addition to my real estate expertise, I’ve spent years building and collaborating with property management companies.

Given Covid related material and supply shortages, should I plan additional buffer time around my contractor's estimates. 

Your structure does nothing but provide plaintiff's attorneys additional defendants to add to claims which only complicates litigation.