Your primary tenant should be your eye's and hears of the household, but I wouldn't give them duties of your responsibility. 

Over 50% of all households have pets.

lol we are talking the same, lets say we do some input statistic analysis ( i did it before ), so in 2009 the mortgage debt with typical husband and wife working is like 29% ; now that number is going as much as 44% in some cities. also our home price is created using auction systems, if there'e 100 houses in one zip code, the pricing discovery in created by the last 3-5 home purchasers, which indicate 95% of other folks does not necessarily able to purchase home or do mortgage with current rate.Which cause a problem, one household either need to maintain job that can continously paying the mortgage and/or the loyalty of husband and wife is a MUST LOL Having said that, to maintain 1.5 mil homes in bay area for example, husband and wife should not divorce for 30 years at least.But for 150k house in Ohio, the husband can divorce their wife anytime while maintain the mortgage payment LOLHaving said that, getting divorce is very suicidal for financial.but also creating different effect, for single guy, there's almost no way they can purchase home, unless they're cardiologist or any other high income earner LOL (this example is just for fun).In our area the home supply is coming from two sources mainly: people going retirement and want to cash out or separation in relationship LOLGetting separation is very expensive especially if you born in 1970/1980/1990s, I would even argue the moment you are married-->single thus you become the renter class again LOL

Debt. org estimates that the average household with a credit card carries $8,396 in debt.

Birmingham passed most of the "rule of thumb" criteria recommended (job growth, household income growth) but the downside is population is -18.60% since 2000, and crime is a bit on the higher side (https://www.deptofnumbers.com/employment/metros/). 

Further, you've stated that median household income is $53,000.  

Be sure to check the program household income limits for your county as well. 

Hello, Elijah Householder, I believe I can answer your question.Using rental income from a room in the house to qualify for a mortgage can be challenging, especially if this is your first home purchase.

They're managed by a property manager and bring in about $3k per month in cash flow after fees.With a household income of around $600k (pre-tax) and $100k available for investment, I'm aiming to find investment strategies that prioritize cash flow over property appreciation.

According to this Gallup survey, real estate is the most trusted asset class no matter the household income level of respondents.