People who only have a hammer say everything looks like a nail but you know how that saying goes…Yes you can use 75% of the gross rental lease of the new property you purchase and sometimes it’s best to buy the property vacant because you can use market rental rate x 75% - PITIA or monthly payment = net rental income.When buying a rental property that has 1-4 units, it’s better to have the property vacant because market rents are usually higher than the sellers current lease (typically).Its good to figure out what your current expenses are right now , what your current income is or will be by the time you intend to buy, then go out and find a hypothetical property in the area you would like to target and work backwards to see what it would take to qualify for this hypothetical property with estimated market rents, property taxes, and insurance. 

@Chelsea Gilford  yeah @Joseph Cacciapaglia here hits the nail on the head. 

But the ones you nail are usually some of your best deals.

Guys like this are very polished, they have done an excellent job steering you in the direction they want with their “free” content just to hit you at the end with a $4,000 surprise.

My experience is to wait until the renovations are 100% complete and the unit is polished.

Man you hit the nail on its head SO HARD.Sellers being so damn unrealistic with their sale price.

Our winters can be difficult to nail down; sometimes mild and sometimes bone-crushingly hard.

As mentioned in this thread, you really need Real Data Comps vs Zillow to nail down Valuation and you should keep in mind that the market, especially in a market like South Florida has further downsize risk for pricing in the short term. 

You will likely give up $10's of thousands of dollars by doing so.Once it is vacant, make minor repairs to ensure everything is neat and functional, give it a fresh coat of interior paint, then polish everything including the windows!

Location is tough to nail down without more input from you.