Another neat little piece of VA loans is that they can allow for higher DTI ratios than conforming/fha loans because they primarily rely on residual income and not directly on DTI (it's complicated, but this will do for now).

Mark ThomasI wonder if they have given us all the exact same story line???

What you can require legally changes depending on your location. - If you make the above clear in the listing, you will immediately get fewer applicants.

We have been on leave for the summer. 

Never built in Houston before so take my feedback with a grain of salt but I'd put money on it being impossible to build a duplex from scratch for $125 a foot (including everything from drawings, engineering, permit fees, general conditions, labor, material, landscaping).Out here in AZ the builder cost is going to be $200 a foot at best, but add 20% on top of that for the client cost.

Most people will sell you on the upside—cheap properties, high cash flow, and a growing city—but they conveniently skip over the challenges.Tenant risk is real.

If you ask the manager to justify a fee and he starts hemming and hawing, move on or require them to remove the fee.

Assessments are dependent on what they were for.

Just closed on my first loan with them.

Even after renting, you should check the market every month or so to keep an eye on prices, vacancy rates, etc.