I am thinking about perhaps holding three months rent in escrow and asking her to stay a couple extra months ahead of rent.

We are open to occupying one unit of a duplex (to secure a lower interest rate) for example, and have a good friend who would rent a room in our residence - with an extra apartment (or possibly 2 if there is a basement) creating multiple revenue streams to quickly repay a relatively small mortgage.

You can try to collect extra rent from them after the lease ends and they refuse to leave. 

Hello, I am interested in buying a small single family house in a decent neighborhood (average median house price around 450k), but the seller would want to sell the land (50x100) next to it together for an extra 100k to make a deal. hypothetically I can negotiate it a lower price for the land (any suggestion on how to determine the value for the land), what kind of investment can I make to turn the land into something profitable rather than just being wasted?

Those figures are the reason I’m interested in the property, especially since it’s a long term play.I know there are many investors who caution against student rentals; however, I’m younger (29) and don’t have an issue with the extra time/headaches required to manage these types of rentals.

set up your rentals on a weekly schedule.52 weeks in a year your picking up an extra month.. now lower your tenants rent by 10 bucks or 190 a week.and your tenant is thinking hey is am saving money when in fact your making money.rentals in AU are collected weekly and advertised weekly.  

@Val Jaz, do you have to pull a permit when you are installing windows where you are located? 

The contractor currently is refusing to continue work and wants to be paid ~$13000 for extra foundation work based on a subsurface condition clause.

But, some people told me, if city involves, they will destroy all the walls and might set a fine because I did not ask for permit and all the works he had done are wrong.

Spend the extra coin and get higher class neighborhoods, skip the rough areas.