Just need to stat under the occupancy limit.Also keep in mind basement needs to be livable square footage, ie have egress and proper ceiling height. 

You don't need a mortgage broker, just a reputable, competent direct lender that will ask the important questions upfront to properly screen your deal.

Section 8 tenants can be fantastic renters if screened properly.

And personally I put way more weight on buying the right location as a buy and hold investor than saving some dollars on the front end. 

so he has an initial negative equity in excess of $100k.so -$100k / (a very small cash flow when properly allocating for expenses and vacancy) equals years before there is any cash flow.  

They’re built for heavy use and have faster drying times—usually 30–45 minutes—without needing major electrical changes.If you’re up for a bigger investment, adding extra stackable units in the garage could be a great long-term fix, though it’ll mean some electrical work and setting up proper ventilation.I’d probably go for the commercial upgrade in your current space first—it’s quicker and might solve the bottleneck right away.

Our biggest problem is getting her out so we can do a proper rehab 60 days of dead dime waiting for her to vacate is not Ideal obviously. 

Do they have the proper insurance and licenses?

One of the biggest challenges of investing in Rustbelt cities is knowing where to invest and properly understanding the cooresponding pros & cons.Here's copy & paste advice we share to help to address this challenge:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a Class A property in Class D area, what quality of tenant will you get?

Quote from @Alan David: Inner circlejerk for  thec few who  hsvent been nripped off.........yetYour not “ripped off” if the investment parameters and risks were properly disclosed and you chose not to read the disclosure materials.