And then, if you're lucky and chose the right property at the right time in the right location, you might also get the icing on the cake:  appreciation in the value of the property!

Doesn't help that staten island market is no cake walk.

It is one of the more expensive schools but the 63 hour pre-license exam that they give is cake.

@Frank Rubio ,I'm with @Steve Vaughan , it sounds like you want to eat your cake, but have your dad bake it while you're off at school.

You need to know what to do in a spacific order, kinda like bakin a cake!

Appreciation is just icing on the cake.

http://cashformyclosing.com/proof-of-funds/the plethora of sites out there offering 'proof of funds' letters - some like the above offering proof of 'unlimited' funds for a low monthly 'subscription' really take the cake in what 'proof of funds' is apparently being belittled to. granted, with id theft and bank fraud activity all around, most no one wants to be handing bank statements with account #s with every cash offer, to a state licensed broker let alone a property owner we know very little about. but hey, thats why we blot out the account # or part of it and so on.oh well.. 

A conventional loan is a loan that is edible to sell into Fannie/Freddie.

Nothing in that says you can't rent it for 3 of those years, so why not have your cake and eat it too?

If the answer is no you need to walk away or reduce the price.You want to have if the rents increase and all this other positive stuff happening after you buy it as icing on the cake and NOT to make the purchase worthwhile and viable only if these events occur.