If you don't have the funds to buy rentals, you to get money (active income, day job income) to afford to buy those properties.Many investors choose to make real estate their active income (being a real estate agent, flipping houses, wholesaling properties,...) because those jobs create profits or commissions, meaning the more successful they work the more money they make.

He's working and suggested a short term roommate to be able to make rent, but so far they only have 20% rent paid and July's rent is due on the 15th. 

I worry that it will be hard to find good tenants because most families that need that much space either 1) already own a house, 2) can't afford such a large apartment or 3) can afford an apartment that large short term, but long term will end up inviting their extended family, etc. to live with them because they have so much space and can't make rent on their own.The only good potential type of tenant I can think of is a middle-class family that needs non-permanent housing -- e.g., professionals who are in the area for a year for work and want a large space to rent for that period.

The underwriting isn't sophisticated, but most of the sellers are copy-cat deal makers, so most don't know any better. 

(I'm not happy about the ordinance, but it's a lot less strict than Denver's Airbnb law, so I guess we can savor that small win.)I think in your situation, the STRs are the real money makers, so keeping those going strong with good reviews is the priority.

Buy below maker value always.

Im looking at this seeing a good money maker due to the various sources of potential income.

It's not that simple math is wrong, it's just that you can open your mind up to much more possibilities, like investing in appreciating markets, once you become knowledgeable about 2 things, 1) Sophisticated Math and 2) Economics so you can read the future of the market.Personally, I don't know how any Investor doesn't want to learn enough about Economics to get a gauge on how the next 10 years in their specific Area of investing may turn out.Will it be like Detroit, which went bankrupt but you could easily have seen that if you paid attention to the 3 Big Auto Makers?

Make sure everything is working properly, have a little coffee maker and leave some water, champagne (2 night or longer stays), breakfast pastries, or something similar for your neighborhood.

@Dan Bryant ...you might want to join the Triangle REIA (TREIA), and attend our Triangle Deal Maker Sessions (not affiliated with TREIA) which meets once a month.