You will still have to pay someone to live somewhere anyway so you may as well build equity at the same time and as a backup plan, sell the property if you are not going to be able to rent it out.

@Brandt Thompson...assuming you're going conventional financing, and you're truly going to rent the property, just make sure you get a lease agreement signed and if you can't get a deposit, have a 1007/rent schedule done that will back up the lease, and you should be given 75% of the lease to offset the PITIA. 

So many expired listings have told me they'll back up in March, I mean I'm talking 70-80% of them.2.

If you look outside city limits make sure you do some research on the septic system, your lot size, if you even have room for a backup field , the ability to replace septic is becoming a real issue statewide. 

You are only budgeting 3% for repairs and that might be ok immediately after a rehab, but a few years later that may be back up around the typical 5% that most people cite as a reasonable amount to budget. 6.

Also, there are no coverages for the most common homeowners' losses like water backup-- it's just standard coverages.3.Youshould get insurance as soon as possible -- there should be insurance on thecondo at all times.

It allows you to assign backup cleaners to your property just in case your primary cleaner can't make it.

Backup Withholding: If a contractor fails to provide a TIN or gives you an incorrect TIN, you may be required to withhold a percentage of their payment for federal taxes (known as backup withholding) and remit it to the IRS.Following these steps will ensure you are in compliance with IRS regulations and avoid potential penalties.

also, any recommendations for a key-lock box as backup if the smartlock fails? 

Due to Covid shipping backup steel went up due to closers from China.