I'm keeping my eye out of a 4plex to help reduce my, probably unreasonable, fear of vacancy risk but keeping my options open just to get started so a 2 for got my attention.     

They are willing to pay a few hundred dollars above market rents and would have essentially 0% vacancy since the sober living company would be on the hook for the lease, not the sober living tenants. 

Owasso is another area to consider, though prices there may be on the upper end of your budget, but the rental demand is strong due to local amenities and a community-focused environment.For a buy-and-hold strategy, these areas tend to offer good rental demand, relatively low vacancy rates, and potential appreciation over time.

I had some minor water leaks and some subfloor issues that overall did not amount to much, but I had to have an vacancy to fix later.

We have been able to rent it out with zero vacancies for $3,300 month, with the mortgage, property taxes, insurance and other expenses totaling ~$2,900.

@Nicholas Foy average sales price in The Eye was $87,944 in 2023.We consider it a Class C- Nieghborhood.So, tenants will probably have FICO scores under 580.Means you may want to use a Vacancy/Tenant nonPerformance factor of 20%+ in your metricsYou'll also need a real good team on the ground to minimize losses.

The 19134 zip code and other parts of North and West Philly offer properties at very affordable prices, but may have more challenges with tenant quality and vacancy rates.

We went way over our expected budget - by far our worse budget miss ever (remarkably we were only 0.5 week over our 2 month timeline).Using my rule, take the estimates and double them then add for lost occupancy and that is what I would be seeking or the owner have the work done using licensed contractors and do the work, take the risks, and suffer the vacancy costs.If you purchase having to do the work and your appraisal can handle it, the credit at closing is superior to price discount.  

You may need to click the images to enlarge them.Summary of the Year 1 cash flow: The details: $82k purchase price, 25% down payment, 25% reserve for maintenance, vacancy, and management.

In certain neighborhoods, squatters in vacancies can be inevitable, regardless of who is managing the property.