Nowadays it little harder to find good deals on MLS when you are looking for properties in Rochester.

I do have many other regular rentals in neighboring towns that are starting to get attractive. nearby towns such as Amsterdam NY are starting to ‘buzz’ which is where we have done several great BRRRRs so far including a 9-plex. the new deals we got near union college were off market that we plan to fix and hold. 

Actually, this is not the common story of nowadays.

A pool would put it over the top (Captain Obvious here, I know lol) but not sure what the cost for that is nowadays. 

I think there are even some electronic ones that you can do nowadays.  

The property usually needs to meet a DSCR covenant of 1.2 or 1.25.Community banks kept investors growth alive during the financial crisis as all of the non confirming exotic loan products provided by institutional lenders (typically backed by hedge funds) were pulled off the shelf after the collapse.Now as things have become more normal, non confirming (not fannie freddie) loan products have begun to trickle back into the market place as institutional capital has developed a thirst for yield backed by hard assets like real estate.These DSCR loans you have heard buzzing about are not agency backed products so therefore there is not the hard and fast rules that you see with conventional.

There are a lot of technologies that exist nowadays that can help i.e.

Nowadays it's on computer where you search for the files, and they charge you for copies you need.I also hired "expeditors" and architects to pull and analyze files for me.

If most VRBO's do have a pool then make sure you have the proper insurance follow regulations (fence around pool etc) maybe even have an alarm on the pool that would buzz in the house if surface water disturbed like if someone fell in.Then have a professional pool company maintain it.

It seems like a lot to ask nowadays for the equivalent of 3 times rent upfront.