I'm a mortgage broker and can offer just about any product QM and non QM with competitive pricing. let's close some deals!

At the time, PPR was selling courses for investing in distressed 2nd mortgages.

He is older and does not have a mortgage and there is a lot of deferred maintenance on the property.

Also, credit score minimums are higher- often requiring a middle mortgage FICO score of 720 and above.

For now, it Looks like your roommate/tenant can cover half of your mortgage (plus hoa fees). 

I'd recommend looking at costs. your build cost is going to be well over other homes because of the fixed costs like slab, Hvac, roof, etc. check the market drivers and weight the benefits of short term versus long term. long term is no furniture and help pays mortgage but at this size it doesn't really cover everything. we didn't find a lot of economies of scale in single family detached. can you build more than one unit?

Landlords can easily do it without a mortgage but they are taking a huge risk.

Is there a way to passively track mortgage rates on 5+ residential apartment buildings?   

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

That may increase your cost or limit the coverage you can get.The Year that the following were updated (either partially or fully) would be good to know:- Heating systems- Roof- Plumbing- electricalSome companies will not write properties with systems that have not been updated.As long as you are living there, the proper policy for a 1-4 family is a "Homeowners" policy.