Do your homework first - then you'll be ready for a more meaningful conversation with a landlord.Best...Thanks for your response. so I have researched the rates and I understand that screening a tenant is crucial. mu biggest concerns are the carrying costs until a tenant is filled as I’ve heard the process can take up to 3 months to find a tenant.

-A water heater issue resulted in repeated mismanagement—confusing unit assignments—leading to extra costs to fix the same issue 3 times and on each occasion "more fixes" needed to the water heaters that I plumber said was needed.

Why not joint venture with someone who has money, fix & flip itWhy not rent it out for at least the monthly carrying costs.Why not sell it on a lease option, get 10% cash up front to fund school? 

I think the big question is how badly do you want to keep the extra $50k liquid?

Interested in getting some extra income with converting the extra space in the basement into a rentable unit.Basements in a one-family home can be lawfully rented only if the following conditions are met:Compliance with the Housing Maintenance Code for minimum room size.There is a minimum ceiling height of 7 ft.The walls, as high as ground level, must be damp- and water-proofed if HPD determines that subsoil conditions on the lot require it.The basement is occupied by one family and does not include boarders.Every room must have at least one window.The bottom of any yard or other required open space cannot be higher than six inches below the window sill of any required window in the room.

The quotes were only a few hundred dollars extra annually.

You have the means to purchase and intend to offer owner financing (you) to the buyers of your lots.That sounds pretty straight forward as long as you are able to carry the loans and deal with any defaults.I don't have a background in raw land deals, so that's all I got.Thanks for the feedback and I will keep these things in mind as I move forward. 

Real estate investing carries risk, but this is a calculated move.

For example, if the property you are buying is a development property, like a small house with a large lot in a developing area, then a small negative cash flow could be okay if you can carry it.

I've tried the lower 6-7% PMs and usually you'll either pay mark ups on repairs (what you've noted) or pay extra fees (i.e. labor hours, extra calls) that you may or may not notice.