If he opts for a townhouse, a low HOA fee will help his buying power It gets tricky using lease agreement income when purchasing a house so I do not think that idea will work.

The other contractors that I have worked with gave me a full scope with detailed line items of what will be fixed, how much the labor is and how much the material is going to be.

When you discuss fees don't just ask the monthly and leasing fee.

It's written into the lease that tenants must deposit their rents into that particular account (either by online bank transfer or by walking in a check/cash); I do not collect rents directly, nor would I if anyone asked.

I would caution you not to necessarily expect your NOI to be higher because you achieve higher rents leasing units to Section 8 tenants.

Managing a rental yourself can be time-consuming, especially if you're handling maintenance, tenant relations, and lease enforcement. 

@Phillip Austin we've looked into these and it's our opinion they should only be used with Class A tenants, maybe Class B - deifinitely NOT Class C or D tenants.Several companies in this area will no longer allow S8 leases or tenants under 600 credit scores - because of the high number of claims & corresponding claim amounts.

Some Lenders can even take just the Lease Agreement.

Just so those newer to syndicating (like OP noted) are aware that there many flavors of syndicators, and that "who" is running a deal may not be who one thinks it is, depending on how the items are enumerated.

The list goes on.For mission-critical items, you want quality, not cheap.