So, if I reviewed 10 deals from a wholesaler that are allegedly "great rentals," and I calculated that 9 of them would barely produce 5% COCR, I would stop looking at any more emails from that wholesaler and add them to my mental "snake oil seller" list!

I produce drawing sets for permit on a regular basis. 

Even the famous @Brandon Turner and @Joshua Dorkin got their starts with these lower end income producing properties and had to put the time into it, before they realized that they were better suited for buying different types of assets.

After months and months of struggles, pushing, tears, and valleys...yesterday my offer was accepted for a house that will produce enough rent for me to live rent-free.

Yields will vary greatly depending on the perceived risk of each area within Pittsburgh, or any city for that matter.That being said, if you look at the high level data, it shows that on average properties in Pittsburgh are producing rents that are 0.82% of the purchase price.  

It keeps competition out which creates higher cap rates, but it also can sour lenders and appraisers that are unfamiliar with the actual product and think only of "Trailer Park Boys" and other false narratives created by the media (which has learned that the words "trailer park" to any TV show will produce higher ratings with the American expectation of sex, drugs and violence).

Unless you're running the numbers from a house hacking perspective with only one unit bringing in rental income, but I will only likely be living there for a year, so I ran the numbers as both units producing rental income.

It's been rented and producing well until late May when there was a fire in the house.

In fact in my area certain houses have a higher than market rate for rentals so section 8 produces more income for me. 

I am not sure that jacking up the rent in this scenario would have produced a better outcome.