Rent, gas, and food, as prominent examples, going up is felt the most by lower income households. 

Always ofcourse in collaboration with an architect who is doing the due diligence checks so you know for sure you can get it.As a foreigner it is as easy as for residents to get a mortgage, the only thing is that non-residents can get up to 70% LTV mortgages (80% for residents) and for tourist rentals it normally drops a bit more to around 60ish% LTV.

I acted as my own GC for both remodels so I have experience dealing with zoning, permitting, sub-contractors, architects engineers etc….

As we both have full time jobs, we have agreed to scope of work, but he will be responsible for bringing in the architect, hiring all subs,  filling all permits, procuring materials, oversight of all inspections and day to day oversight of all the work.  

A local architect wants $.85/ft but since I am considering 4 of them, that may be worth it. 

I then read an article from a prominent investor that he invest in properties that produce a R/P ratio of 8 to 9. 

An architect looked at the house and indicated its definitely possible.

I'm an Architect and I think you should almost always use one.

For the record I am not a hippy at all, just an architect landlord.

Call some architects and ask who the good ones are.Good luck!