That would be the minimum entry fee I would think.

The law does NOT apply to landlords:With less then 5 rental unitsThat live in one unit of a duplex and rent out the other unitThat rent out rooms in the home they occupySo, landlords can no longer state in their rental ads, "Section 8 not accepted".The reverse is also true, "Section 8 only", cannot be used.We've always recommended screening S8 tenants the same way as cash-paying tenants.Landlords waiving application fees and/or security deposits only for S8 prospects may also be violating Fair Housing.

For instance if this is a $10M portfolio that's levered with loans totaling $9.1M, there's no equity that can be pulled but if this is a $1M portfolio with $100K of debt, its a different story.

Most lenders won't require an application fee and should be able to clearly lay out their financing costs, cash to close, and projected profitability for you.I hope this helps.

✅ Typical origination fees?

I know hosts have included additional cleaning fees for violations as a deterrent.If none of these solutions work, you could look into completely independent HVAC systems for the two units, though that would be a bigger upfront investment.

With regard to renovations, I always suggest taking incremental steps to bigger renovations or partnering with someone who has already done a renovation at that level.I've been known to just go for the big rehabs for my personal investments here in Chicago , and during that process, it's always more stressful than it needs to be...As far as navigating the competition, I've found the best thing I can do is get EXTREMELY CLEAR  on what I am looking for; then I am confident pulling the trigger quicky. 

@Loren Souers I'd have to run the specific scenarios with the rates and fees, but if you're OK with paying the higher closing costs, the Mortgage 1 deal looks good, particularly if you focus on CoC returns.

So, we require a nonrefundable Retainer Fee for 90 days of our time to find a rental property.

I find condos/townhomes to be easier to manage out of state because the HOA handles a lot of the maintenance, just be aware of condo fees and find a place that is reasonable like $300-400/mo or less if you are lucky.