(i.e. a college student with a huge passion for real estate and financial freedom)

Hard to produce cash flow or break even with that much debt, at that rate.House-hackers, however enjoy certain one time (non-scalable) advantages that should be taken advantage of in the early days: - They can assume pre-existing debt like VA and FHA Loans (rather than take it on Subject-To which is dramatically riskier).- They can rent by the room and self-manage to produce day 1 cash flow.- Many of these HCOL areas also have strict limitations on AirBnB or short-term rentals... that do not apply to owner-occupants - thus allowing for extreme cashflow potential for house-hackers.

Have you had tenants who seemed qualified on paper but turned out to be financially unreliable?

does that mean they are getting the debt non recourse and you bring equity ?

The victims are a family in Texas that loaned him their life savings.Any leads on his financial assets would be appreciated and greatly help this family. 

Where comps come in to to compare "cap Rates"  (a measure of financial performance) of recent sales. 

If your current lender can’t accommodate you, explore STR-focused lenders like Host Financial or Lima One Capital, or consider bridge loans to buy time while you build your rental history.

Through proactive maintenance, efficient tenant placement, and careful financial management, I optimized rental income and ensured a steady cash flow.

Since you already have an offer, it’s not really about whether the property will sit for six months, it’s about whether keeping it makes financial sense.

Simply put, many of these distressed properties were put under duress by the former owners financially, not necessarily the location.