There are tons of successful strategies...it's hard to dictate what is best for each person. 

Yes I understand that you need to use the home for personal use for a certain amount of time each year, and the specific amount of time can be dictated by the lender.

Just because someone who wants to "buy" a property will pay a specific dollar amount, doesn't mean that sale price will dictate a specific "rent". 

Depending on how much time you want to contribute to the research and such, will dictate how many of the opportunities you work. 

An additional influence is the cost and structure of the debt that can be used to leverage the purchase of that income stream, as that dictates how much of that income stream owners can keep, and how much cash they have to bring to the table to acquire it. 

The rental amount for the area dictates that her rent should be at 700.   

So pure logic is going to dictate the most desirable property and good deals are going to be "pending" in days.  

Depending on the type of loan can dictate what process is in place to assume the mortgage.

Usually, for a single family you can dictate in your lease that the resident is responsible for lawn care.Since we manage mostly multi families here in Bridgeport Connecticut the owners are responsible for common areas.  

Don't allow the tenant to dictate terms.Problem is, significant revenue is lost when the move-in date is so far out.