The property is likely a little too expensive for me to qualify for with a conventional loan based on DTI.

It could very well be its all lost but seems like a big jump to conclusions by investors that basically did very high interest rate investing and expected  CD like performance..

This is not easy to do consistently and effectively.

There are also online platforms that will handle managing security deposit compliance, refunds, etc. like rentable.com

OO loan seems like real long shot. 

As a SFR investor for over 15 years I have been wrestling with this question in the past, because it feels like you should upgrade to "bigger".I know for sure that I would not enjoy the ownership experience that comes with a small 4F, because in Milwaukee that typically also means lower income tenants. 

It sounds like you are trying to buy a second property with less of a downpayment than 20 percent.

Has anyone done this in Chattanooga?

is this a long-term play or short term?   

thanks for your time and help 1st off, full disclosure here, Rent To Retirement advertises their properties on my Investment Properties For Sale Show, so I am not a totally unbiased opinion and it's only fair that I tell you this up frontHaving said that, outside of running my show for people like them, I also own a property management company in Northeast Ohio and have worked with 1,000's of out of state investors over the years.I say all of that to say this, the overwhelming majority of negative reviews I have seen on them are very similar to a lot of negative experiences investors have with my property management company and others like it that I've worked with.