We let them out of the lease, now I just have to convince psycho lady to tone things down so we can find a tenant she deems acceptable.

Or are you going to need $8/SF engineered hardwood?  

Which scenario do you think is going to need more hands on and active approach? 

I suspected from the inspection report that the property was going to need a new sewer line in the near future, so I offered $20,000 under asking and they accepted my offer of $155,000!

They were dragging their feet and were going to cause us to need a contract extension so I went to another bank to see if they could close on time and here is how the two loan options played out.

This post just made me think back to getting started and what I remembered specifically is not really knowing what all I was going to need until I got to the point where I needed it, if that makes sense.My post was meant to be "in addition to" your advice, not in place of it!

Is it a new build home or condo, or a 100 year old historic home that’s going to need 10x the capex and use double the utilities?

@David Rincon You're really going to need some cash and or smooth talking skills to pull this sort of thing off but I can think of two ways to make it work.a) find yourself a suitable property that is being lease-optioned.

I plan to live in the downstairs unit and rent out the upstairs. property is in good condition and does not appear to need any immediate updates.I will be using a 30yr FHA loan with 3.5% down @4% interest$250,000 - listing price $2,100/yr - Taxes$1500/yr - Homeowners insurance (got quote)General rents in the 30344 area for a 3/2 is about $1,200-1,400 (My realtor told me this place had previously been rented at $1,100/unit).Can you tell me if this sounds like a good deal?

They are starting to need their home.