that may also play a role in your decision.  

Sometimes, when I have credit pulled, it displays some DSCR loans but not others (credit bureaus are a black box), however, the mortgage payments are just reported to the credit bureaus to account for late payments (which plays into conventional financing eligibility), but they do not play into a borrower's personal debt-to-income ratio when qualifying for conventional loans.

Couple times even played matchmaker...you can find 2-4 working professionals who are new to the city and looking for a place to live. 

We decided to work that angle, this played a big part in the negotiations.

Agree the idea that one can live off of rental income long term is nice but not too common.to me passive income is a place holder to allow you to control the property while is goes up in value over time and once that happens then decide if its a keep or roll into something else.So to me  you either make transactional income in the RE bizz while you grow your passive portfolio or you keep your chosen career while you grow your passive portfolio.The idea that Hey I get to 10k a month and I am quitting and will live the rest of my life on this money to me is not a long term strategy that will play out.. 

currently don't own any property, have no desire to own property. but the renovating to increase rent is a smart long term play!

I think we will see modest price increases in the single digits (say 3-4%) as the Fed eases back on rates.There are basically two long term plays in real estate - investing for cash-flow, and investing for appreciation.  

Real Estate is a game and it has game pieces and a playing board. 

Of course there are many different variables and personal preferences definitely play a major part. 

I only play in the "kiddie pool".