The important thing with a rehab is to over-budget and to have an "extra" budget.

If the rent is $1200 pm and two people apply they should both be earning at least $1800 pm, £3,600 joint monthly income.

A condo has a lot of extra mandatory fees and you need approvals for renting.

I know the right tenant is key, and this being my 6th house I am completely fine and financially safe on sitting for an extra month to get the right person in there. and not just fill the spot. 

No legal fee's  and all packages come with fresh appraisal paid for by the borrower and all closing cost paid for by the borrower.. when you put out 75k for a note your earning interest on all of it.. that's why we have done 1600 of them in the last 5 years with no advertising  LOL... 90% are sidra. and repeat business..

It is basically: you buy a home and live in it, rent out rooms (other units if multi family), and have the renters pay the majority of the mortgage, leaving you with extra $$ compared to the avg market rent for where you live.

Thoughts on controlling the cost of the diligence vs the actual interest earned also appreciated.

When I’ve run my numbers on single family vs a duplex for say 70-90k in Cleveland with these extra costs I find the cash flow numbers are basically the same.

As long as people continue earning good incomes, I don’t see housing prices going down much.

Possibility one is you're both wasting money on extra appraisal fees for no reason.