Or vice versa depending on how comfortable and profitable you would like to be. 

@Jonathan Hong I would be comfortable with $1000, but you have to decide what your risk tolerance is with this.

We require all applicants to earn at least $72,000 per year to ensure additional living expenses can be comfortably covered…”

I'm thinking I can find some lower cost deals in the area too but I need to make sure it's in a location that my fiance is comfortable living in.  

Because we're new to real estate investing and the real estate tax process, part of me feels like having a local CPA would bring a level of comfort knowing they are nearby to walk us through everything.  

My parents are interested in supporting me and they are at a stage where they have a comfortable amount of money, they have excellent credit and they have no plans of taking out a loan in their lifetime. 

We would just get comfortable and loving our job and then a merger would happen or some knucklehead at the top with no real lending background would come up with some "great idea" and shake things up.

I love my home and neighborhood but I'm wondering if I should rent in to military as my husband is also military and we feel comfortable renting to other military families.

The second property will be purchased with a mortgage (you can determine how high or low the leverage will be by adjusting the proceeds you use or the price point of the 2nd replacement).You are adding some measured debt at a level that your dad can be comfortable with. 

I looked there a bit myself, but don't know the area well enough to feel comfortable.