We really need to make sure the second deal is a smart one as it will eat up most of our reserves. 

Condos and townhomes are nice but HOA fees eat into your profit. 

The ENTIRE mentality here is wrong.Listen carefully and hoe you and everyone else here understands this.Consider this.I have 15 kids, 4 dogs, 300 chickens, 3 wifes (that don't know about eachother), an uber eats job, and 35 dollars to my name.

There will be tenant turnover, which will eat into returns."

I have zero experience, but my wife and I eat out a lot???"

Be wary of hard money loans; they can be pricey, often around 12% interest for newer, which can quickly eat into your profits and also require a high down payment.

We require all tenants to add us as "additional interest" on their policies, so we know when policies have been cancelled, but if a tenant chooses to violate the lease and not carry insurance they can eat the costs of their belongings if something happens. 

A 200lb professional athlete is going to be more fit than an 200lb desk worker that eats fast food every meal. 

This changes nothing relative to value add, which is how you get rich.In this game, presuming you know what's going on, you can make your pie and you can eat it :)I think this'll make a decent post for the blog...

He still asks you for a small fee to make sure that you're a serious buyer and that you're gonna buy his offerings so he can get his fat commissions.