I was thinking more along the line of multi-families so I can collect recurring revenue as long as the property is being rented.Thank you and hope to hear back!

If your gross income is high enough to add your PITI payment and still be under 50% DTI without tenants, you're in good shape on that end.Don't forget to allow for vacancies and non-recurring maintenance/repairs!

This time and anxiety has a cost as well, just an intangible one.  

So if you're making $42k, then that works out to $3500/month and you could use this to support $1260/month in total recurring debt (like car payments, credit cards, and housing). 

You can only allocate a couple % for this - the other regularly recurring expenses like roto rooting, regular tree trimming, asphalt sealing, etc can all be allocated as part of your diligence and be pretty firm year over year.

(But then again, that's one reason the house in in such a beautiful community).Could you have possibly rented this out (or L/O'd it) to recur some expenses?

The goal is to identify single family homes, multi-family homes meeting something recouping costs and recurring costs within 3 years.

Outside of taxes and insurance, I can't think of any recurring major costs. 

I've talked to a few of them, and the recurring theme is they invested for appreciation down there.  

When Lenders are considering you for a loan, they typically will look at your income (reported on your last 2 years tax returns) along with your recurring monthly debts and credit score.